Awakening (Book One of 'The Fallen Ones')
by ghoulical
Summary: Alexandra is looking for a new start in the mysterious town of Silvercrest. Little does she know, the town is anything but ordinary when she starts seeing strange things others can't, befriends several denizens of the Shadow World and uncovers secrets not only of Silvercrest, but of her past as well.
1. Provenance

Alexandra knew that she was definitely going to regret ever agreeing to this.

She gazed distantly out the window as the wind brought droplets of rain toward their car, hitting its side mercilessly like hailstones. Her mind wandered back to just a couple of days before; in contrast to the current gloomy weather, Friday morning was nothing but perfection. The holiday was coming to an end in a mere three days and she would finally be reuniting with her friends again. She didn't travel abroad like her friends did, however, but she was eager to listen to the stories they brought from lands she doubted she would ever visit in the near future.

Her peaceful moment of bliss, however, was quickly interrupted by none other than her mother, who came rushing into her room that morning with a smile that she hadn't seen in years.

"Good news, sweetie!" her mother Vivienne exclaimed with excitement when she opened the door and peeked around the corner. She came in to the sight of her daughter lounging quietly on a light grey bean-bag with a laptop on her lap. Alexa immediately lowered the monitor because she knew how much her mother hated to see her eyes fixed on the brightened screen whenever the latter spoke, but she didn't seem to mind that at all this time.

Instead, she disappeared momentarily before returning with a maroon suitcase dragged behind her. Alexa had to double-check the date and time in her laptop to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"Mom," she began hesitantly. "It's three days before school starts. Why did you bring my suitcase here _just now_?"

"That's because we're not going travelling," she said with a wink. "You will still have to pack, though. Just bring the necessities and we'll see what else we can fit in, otherwise the rest will have to go in the boxes, I suppose."

Alexa frowned. "Why? What are we doing and where the hell will we be going?"

Her mother clapped her hands together. "Why, we're moving, of course! And we're going to the beautiful, quiet, countryside town of Silvercrest!" Her smile turned to a grin as she began dancing a little, which only made her daughter be even more embarrassed to have a mother like her. "Yay!"

Alexa's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped open, disbelieving what her ears just picked up. She even considered pinching or slapping herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. Or rather, having a nightmare, and the worst one yet—worse than even the one she had about a zombie apocalypse that left her with a fever the rest of the day.

 _Moving?_ She thought hysterically to herself. _Silvercrest? Why?_

As if reading her thoughts, her mother continued, "I know I should've told you this earlier, but my boss recently stationed me in Silvercrest Hospital because the facility was having a lack of staff to deal with the sudden increase in patients coming in, but it seems that they have been coming in showing rather strange symptoms, and a handful of them have been treated for months but showing little improvement. I'll need to get to the bottom of this, but I doubt that this will be done in a short period of time. Months, even. I don't dare to leave you here for days while I'm in another town, so why don't we just move for the time being? At least until this whole issue is done, then we can discuss what we'll do in the future."

She was about to say something in defense when her mother immediately added, "It'll be a great—I promise! A change in scenery, and a change in the environment… After all that's been happening recently, I think it's time for us to—you know—get a fresh start, rewinding back to zero and work our way up from there. What do you think?"

She wanted to refuse. To say no because she didn't like the idea of moving, particularly the idea of moving out of her comfort zone—not that this place gave her any comfort anymore, not with recent events. There were too many bad memories here, but there were some good ones, too. She wasn't willing to drop everything and leave it all behind, yet. And besides, what harm could another two years in high school here do to her?

But, seeing the smile on her mother's face that she had missed and hadn't seen in such a long time, she couldn't find the courage to say no. Her mother's curiosity was something that she inherited herself, and that was what got her to many unfortunate incidents that contributed in making those pleasant as well as many of the terrible memories. Her mother claimed a while ago that she was no different than her daughter during her own teenage years, always wandering around and trying to find her calling in the world.

She eventually found it, though. Her passion to help the unfortunate led her to medical school, but their less fortunate family background prevented her from furthering her studies to obtain a proper degree in a specific medical field. She resorted to working as a nurse, but strived to become the best in the league. She had what Alexa used to call as 'miracle hands'— there was never a single patient that she was assigned to before that didn't recover from whatever illness or injury they had, as long as there was a method of curing them.

Her mother's curiosity did lead her to many interesting situations involving the patients she handled, and she would tell many of those stories to her daughter ever since she was nothing more than a struggling and perhaps even dimming light of hope—nothing more than an unpaid intern at the local clinic. They replaced the bedtime stories that other kids would hear before they went to bed, and Alexa didn't mind. It kept that way until she was too old to be told a story before going to bed, but she would listen in during dinnertime after her mother came home from work, still in her uniform and yet to take a shower. She was only too eager to share her stories to the only person she had left.

But now, her curiosity led her elsewhere, and whereas Alexa would usually be the supportive daughter she was to every career venture her mother took, she considered on backing out this time. Silvercrest was no ordinary countryside town; it was literally located in the middle of nowhere, as if it was purposefully excluded from the rest of the world. Many maps lacked the location of this town, in fact, and she wasn't surprised why. Nothing good ever came out of that town; rumor had it that something supernatural lurked around the town, and there were more than enough reports of unsolved murders and unexplained mysterious happenings to steer even its own residents away from the town.

And yet, it still existed to this day. Not only was it dangerously close to the town she grew up in, but now, she actually had to move and _live_ there. And as much as Alexa's own curiosity led her to wonder what was really happening in that town, she didn't even know if she would like the truth of what lurked beneath Silvercrest, much less actually move there herself and possibly experience those happenings firsthand.

Nevertheless, she couldn't let her mother down. Not when it gave the latter an opportunity to shine and show the world her 'miracle hands,' and perhaps make a better living for the two of them.

So she accepted without complaint. And here she was now, sitting in the passenger's seat of the lonely car with her head on her hand propped against the door, waiting for something else to appear in her line of vision other than rows and rows of evergreen trees. She wondered how far into the forest the town really was—the rice fields that bordered the town she grew up in disappeared a long time ago—but was thankful that a few people at least had the decency to build an asphalt road leading through the lush forest and towards the town.

It had been three hours since they left their old house and headed for the road. Her Spotify playlist that she filled with about twenty loud rock songs her mother would no doubt disapprove was in the middle of its second loop, but despite the screaming in her ears, her eyes were beginning to droop and her head had collided with the glass window more than several times. Even browsing through Tumblr or Pinterest didn't keep her from slowly giving into boredom either. There were almost no games in her phone to keep her occupied, leading her to ponder upon why little children, including her younger cousins, could get themselves so wrapped around tiny screens on mobile devices.

The twenty-first century, she thought, was truly an amazing age.

Another two hours further into the ride and finally something other than trees, light poles or other lone cars that was heading towards the opposite direction they were appeared in view. At first she thought it was some advertisement on a billboard, but as they approached it, she could clearly read the black stylized letters painted onto the wooden board:

 _Welcome to Silvercrest!_ It read. _We hope you enjoy your stay!_

Below the letters was a silhouette painting of a howling wolf at the top of a hill, with a night sky backdrop glittered with tiny dots as stars. It would've been beautiful, if the weather hadn't been as cruel as it was leading to the wearing of the wooden planks and the paint that had begun to fade away around the edges of the sign.

She heard her mom sigh in relief beside her. When she looked over to her side, her mother's posture finally relaxed as her shoulders drooped beside her. The skin over her knuckles was no longer taut and she wasn't clutching onto the steering wheel as though their lives had depended on it. Her work stress had clearly worn her out, and despite all the attempts made to make her body as filled as it used to be, her mother's body still looked like the grim reaper's in Alexa's eyes.

Fifteen minutes further and buildings finally began to materialize into view. It looked as if the town had been held at least five years back from current civilization outside of the town; the buildings were mostly two to three stories tall, at maximum five, and many of them still had a weathered red-brick exterior with pastel trims and accents. There was a fair number of stores and shops and little stands that indicated that the town's economy was still faring quite decently, but the significant number of people in their middle ages and above, more than where she used to live, indicated that they might be facing the problem of an ageing population as well, alongside other issues.

Regardless, Alexa was all to relieved to see actual life before her eyes after seeing such a lack of it for the past five hours or so, even despite the obvious somber expressions on their faces. She wasn't surprised, though; the town's reputation clearly preceded itself, even to its own citizens. She could only come up with few reasons why people would rather remain here instead of moving someplace elsewhere.

There weren't any proper road signs throughout the town, it seemed, that they had to ask several locals just to find the more residential part of town. Unfortunately, it wasn't too far from the industrial area, too, as indicated by the thicker-than-normal sheet of fog. Strange, since there seemed to be no factories nearby or anywhere around the quaint little mountainside town at all. Then again, it was the _cheaper_ residential area that was uncomfortably close to the edges of the forest that bordered the town, which was what her mother could afford with their current financial situation.

Alexa didn't mind, though. As long as she still got to go to school and perhaps continue life as she normally would've back in her hometown, _and_ as long as her mother remained happy living here, she wouldn't mind at all.

Their house was just one in an entire cluster that spanned over three blocks, all of them with near-identical, semi-detached, two-story houses. The exterior of theirs was painted with a warm coffee color, had dark-brown tiles for the roof and the stereotypical white picket fences that encircled the lot and separated them from their neighbors, if the other half of the building was even occupied at all. From the outside, the house looked surprisingly brand new with the exception of the front yard, which looked negated with its knee-high, untamed wild grass that Alexa made sure she was going to mow herself, should they brought their lawnmower with them as well.

Vivienne killed the engine and unlocked the doors, and, together with her daughter, spend the next hour simply unloading their belongings from the back of their car, along with the first truck that arrived shortly after they did. Alexa wasn't used to doing this much labor work—two days ago, she thought she would be doing nothing but finish the last of her holiday homework and maybe catch up with _Attack on Titan_ for once, the only anime she ever saw and liked.

 _Beggars can't be choosers,_ she reminded herself instead, wiping the sweat from her brow and the sides of her face as she brought the last cardboard box inside and used the box cutter to slice the tape open. By then the first stars of the night had begun to twinkle against the darkened skies, but half of their belongings were already inside and simply needed rearranging, while waiting for the second-half that would be arriving the day after.

Vivienne paid the men who helped them move in for their work and waited until their truck disappeared from view before she closed the front door and locked it for the night before moving to help Alexa unpack the last of their stuff. They had oatmeal for dinner, and as soon as Alexa finished hers, she immediately excused herself from the island counter that now served as their dining table and headed for her new bedroom. Although she was somewhat excited to be rearranging her stuff and redecorating her room, all the energy was drained from her after helping out with the move, and all she wanted to do was to be drowned in the peaceful bliss that was sleep.

But when she did get to her room, she found herself unable to sleep, and instead spent at least half an hour staring at the dark grey ceiling above her—almost the exact same shade as the ceiling of her old bedroom back in her hometown.

Then her phone buzzed. She blinked, and without looking, reached over to her bedside table and clicked on a random button. The screen lit up as soon as she brought it to her face. She squinted and felt the knot in her heart tighten a little when she read the new notification that popped up.

It was a text from her boyfriend—her _ex_ -boyfriend.

She didn't bother reading it. She knew it would contain the exact same words, if not similar or rearranged to make sentences that still contained the same meaning. She unlocked her phone, went to her message bar and deleted it.

Then she went to her contacts and deleted his number, too.

 _A fresh start,_ she reminded herself as she closed her eyes, sighing as she set the phone back down on the table. She took a few deep breaths and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Serendipity

The next morning, Alexa woke up feeling drowsy, as though she had just woken up from the worst hangover she had ever felt her entire life.

Her jet-black hair was a tangled mess, like a hairball choked out by the kitten she used to have when she was younger until they had to give the kitten away when it turned out that her mother's asthma and furry animals did not mix at all. Her dark brown eyes were only half alert and her eyelids constantly drooped as if they knew that she wanted and needed more sleep. Sweat covered most of her face, partially because of her restless sleep and the air-conditioner had yet to be installed, although she figured that being in a town by the mountainside meant that the atmosphere would be cooler up here.

Her hand flew to her face to rub the fog in her vision as her lips parted to yawn loudly, only to be quickly interrupted by the sound of her phone buzzing from the bedside table again. She could've sworn she turned on the 'Silent' option last night in fear of anyone from her old town daring to contact her, possibly questioning why she wasn't already at school for the first day.

She hated to admit it, but she was a rather diligent student despite not being a studious one. While others resented her for being such a 'goody two-shoes,' the only reason why she would often be the teacher's pet was so that she would have more free time to herself and wouldn't get caught in trouble as often as her friends did. They were the 'good student perks', as she would like to call them, and she wanted to make sure that she would make the best of it.

This new school she was now attending wouldn't be any different. Although it might gain her more enemies than she'd like to in the first day already, at least she could take things easier later on in the year. That was a perk she was willing to risk having a not-so-good initial impression to others for.

"Alexa!" Her mother's voice echoed from downstairs. She knew that her mother would be up hours before she did. It was a force of habit after her mother used to help her own parents out early in the morning back when she was young. "Wake up, sleepyhead! It's the first day of school, you won't wanna miss it!"

Groaning, she forcefully pulled herself out of the bed and went over to the door, cracking it open just a little and called back, "I'll be down in a minute!"

She didn't waste another second afterwards; she went to take a quick shower, tip-toed back to her bedroom and put on the first outfit she could pull out from the maroon suitcase she brought in. It turned out to be a red-and-black flannel shirt which she quickly paired with a plain white tank-top, along with dark blue jeans that were ripped around the knee area and black Converse sneakers. Unlike most girls, she didn't quite understand the importance of make-up; her mother was a tomboy when she was younger and apparently some of it passed on to her daughter as well, especially since neither even had the simple knowledge of putting on eyeliner.

It wasn't like she had anybody to impress, anyway. She didn't even know who was attending Silvercrest High as she did, let alone find herself someone she was willing to dress up for.

She brushed her hair and pulled a grey beanie over it as a last touch before slinging her black backpack over one shoulder and bolted out of the room. When she checked the time in her phone screen, she took a little less than thirty minutes to get ready—definitely passing the one minute she promised her mother.

Nonetheless, when she climbed down the two flights of stairs and her feet touched carpet flooring again, she saw her mother in the kitchen, already in her turquoise-green uniform and a white duffel bag on top of one of the bar stools by the island counter. She settled down on the other stool and set her back down on top of one of the counters just as her mother turned around from the stove and served her a plate of eggs—sunny side up, just the way she always liked since a kid—and several strips of crispy bacon. Seconds later, the older woman returned with a glass of white milk.

"Okay," said Alexa with surprise. "Where did you get all the groceries?"

"Oh, I went to the convenience store nearby earlier this morning," her mother replied casually, waving her hand as if it was nothing.

"How early are we talking about here?"

Her mother pressed her lips to a thin line. "Nothing you have to worry about, sweetie."

She did worry about it. Judging by the darkened bags under her eyes, her mother did not get much sleep at all. In fact, it had been this way for quite some time now, but she couldn't blame her. Not after what happened. Not after what they've both been through.

Her mother was taking it harder than Alexa herself did. She thought maybe it was because she was slowly becoming apathetic, numb to every emotion except for slight sorrow, pain and maybe the occasional anger and happiness, if things were going well for her. She'd laugh out loud at a joke and greet people she knew as long as they were still in good terms, but people rarely saw her smile on a daily basis just because she was happy. She doubted she could feel any long-lasting, let alone permanent, emotion at all.

She ate her breakfast in silence while occasionally glancing over to her mother, who was packing herself a lunch for later on. When they were both finished, her mother went to fetch the car keys while Alexa gathered both their bags and stepped out through the front door and towards the car. The day was bright for this hour of the day, but its unrelenting shine was dimmed by the mass of white clouds that gathered in the skies above, covering part of the orb of fire. Alexa's lungs received a culture shock when she took a sharp breath and clean, fresh air filled the two biological breathing apparatuses in her body. Strange, considering the mist that covered the area last night, but she found herself refusing to complain after finally being able to breathe in unpolluted air for the first time in her life.

Within the following five minutes, Alexa merely sat quietly and waited in the car until her mother returned and took the driver's seat next to her. The engine gave a barely healthy cough before it revved up and they were off.

The town's scenery, she realized now, looked a lot greener than it did last night. The trees with their evergreen leaves and the bushes blooming with flowers of summer. Butterflies weren't just fluttering inside her stomach, and tiny flocks of birds flew from one tree to another above the top of their car. The mountains in the distance was blurry from the clouds that gathered upon their caps and the mysterious mist around the forest that had yet to be lifted, unlike the streets of the town.

The mood and atmosphere of its citizens was different, too. People were smiling a lot more, in contrast to the frowns they wore on their faces the night before. Joggers and cyclists cheerfully greeted fellow pedestrians. A young boy was escorting a lady two generations older than him crossing the streets. Schoolkids were enthusiastically running to the school bus that stopped by one of the streets they passed. An elderly man was sitting on a wooden bench beneath a tree feeding a bag of seeds to the pigeons that decided to stop by and grab a snack.

 _Perhaps the rumors were wrong about them_ , Alexa thought to herself, recalling back to the news article she read a while ago before her mother planned to move here at all. The headline said 'Serial Killer Still At Large in Silvercrest,' and the article mentioned about how agitated the citizens were since the murders began happening several months ago. They were sloppy, brutal and definitely bloody murders, she'd read, but there was somehow no evidence that the investigators could directly tie to any potential suspects, if they had any. 'A lucky sociopath,' the article said, too.

Seeing how the people she was surrounded with were the stereotypical run-of-the-mill kind of friendly neighborhood citizens, she doubted that anybody around here would even be capable of raising a sociopath, let alone a serial killer.

That was when she was proven wrong. Just as her mother turned on the car's radio to listen into some crap music by yet another rising R&B singer, Alexa instantly froze when she noticed something right in the corner of her eye, appearing a split second before their car whizzed past it.

Underneath the canopy of a bus station was a person—no, a creature, with a humanoid figure but with skin of ember, black smoke seeping out of the pores all over its body, a gnarl showing its razor-sharp teeth and elongated claws that could tear through human flesh with undoubted ease. Even from within the car, one breath caused her to inhale the nauseating smell of sulfur and rotting flesh that seemed to have permeated from whatever monstrosity that appeared before her eyes. It dragged its feet across the ground and paused, glancing over toward her with its black beady eyes, milliseconds before the car went speeding past it and blocked it from her line of vision.

She couldn't breathe, nor believe what she'd just seen. She rubbed her eyes repeatedly and looked at the rear-view mirror, but it wasn't there. Either that it had disappeared, or that it was never there at all.

And yet, the faint smell of sulfur was still evident in each breath she took, almost as if the whole experience was real. Had it been real? If it was, what exactly was that thing? Deeming it a monster seemed almost like an understatement. It truly was a monstrosity, something that she doubted she could forget anytime soon. The image was forever planted into her brain, and what made it worse was that she had never seen anything remotely close to looking like whatever that thing was, and that meant that it mustn't have been done solely by her imagination.

She acknowledged the fact that her imagination was wild—her mother chastised her for having too many daydreams and fantasies ever since she was a kid—but she didn't think it was that wild. Perhaps, she thought, she might consider seeing a therapist even, if she had been imagining the whole thing.

She didn't even realize what was currently happening around her until she heard someone clearing their throat beside her, and looked up to see her mother's eyes staring intently into hers and the doors unlocking with a simple click.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" her mother asked in a worried tone, apparently noticing the sheer look of horror on Alexa's face. "You look as if you've just seen a ghost."

 _Maybe I was_ , she thought to herself as she gathered her things and looked out the window. The car had stopped right in front of the school's main gates, which was black wrought iron that gave a gothic feel to it, along with the words 'Silvercrest High' above the hollow entrance. Beyond the gates was a concrete path that led through the school courtyard with a large circular fountain in the middle that the path wound around before rejoining into one single line. The grass looked recently mowed with a fresh green color that pleased the eyes, with a few oak trees situated here and there that served as shaded spots for students to study together, chat, contemplate about life decisions or even make-out without gaining too much attention from fellow students and staff alike.

The path led straight to the school's main building, which was about five stories high with concrete-grey walls, borderless glass windows and a giant clock in the top-center of the building that showed the current time, which, at the moment, was five minutes past seven o'clock, and fifty-five minutes before school started. Beside the main building was the parking lot with a separate entrance gate that led to school grounds. There were already several cars parked in the asphalt lot, which meant that she was at least not the first person and hopefully not the first student that got here.

She kissed her mother's cheek and bid her goodbyes before stepping out of the car, unable to take her eyes off of the scenery before her. Her mother's sedan drove off almost immediately, leaving Alexa stranded in a place foreign to her that was also likely to treat her as something foreign in return.

There were several students already relaxing in the courtyard, sitting under one of the towering oak trees. She caught their eyes for a moment but immediately looked away in fear of capturing unwanted attention. It was clear that they weren't new students here like she was, and it was even more obvious to them that she wasn't from here. Even without looking at them, she could feel their stares digging through her skin, and from the corner of her eye, she noticed one of them leaning back toward her friend and whispered something to her ear. The friend grinned and laughed, and Alexa wouldn't doubt it if they had been laughing at her.

 _Well, there goes my first impression_ , she thought as she continued on her way towards the main building. She climbed up the short flight of ten stair steps in front of the entrance and nearly smashed her head straight into the white-rimmed glass doors that served as the main entrance to the building. She pushed one of them open and was instantly led to a somber grey hallway, with rows of pale blue metal lockers and several chestnut-brown doors lined up along the walls. At the end of the hallway, she could see, was a cork notice board that was already filled with several white sheets of paper and flyers, as the hallway branched into the east and west wing of the school building.

Alexa took a moment of pause and contemplated her choices. She could wander aimlessly through the hallways and perhaps find someone that could help her, if there was anybody nice and willing enough to do so. Perhaps find the nearest ladies' bathroom where she could vomit should she have a sudden panic attack out of anxiety, or maybe what could become the site of her first toilet dunk in the new school after the kids in the popular clique finally decided that she was just another hopeless loser here.

Instead, she opted to head for the notice board, hoping that there would be at least one useful information there.

She took long strides to the board and stared at it for a good few seconds. Some were apparently flyers to events of the previous school year, which Alexa had no way of participating in since she hadn't moved here yet. There was a list of 'Lost & Found' items should their owners decide to look for them. After scanning across the board, the only event that hadn't happened yet so far was the 'Back to School' Party, which was to be hosted this very day to celebrate reunions with friends the students hadn't seen throughout the holiday.

Alexa shook her head, turning that option down, too. She didn't like parties and hadn't planned on going to one anytime soon, especially when it was to be filled with people she wouldn't recognize at all. But most importantly, she would be the odd one out there—the party was for returning students, not newbies like her. At least, that was what she thought of it as. Why else would it be called the 'Back to School' Party?

After a deep sigh as she found almost everything there utterly useless despite it supposedly being a 'useful' notice board, she was about to depart and go for the first option earlier, which was to wander around aimlessly up and down the halls and maybe figure out where certain rooms were to avoid getting lost.

Then came a tap on her shoulder, and Alexa turned around only to find herself face-to-face with a petite girl who was at least a foot shorter than her, with forest-green eyes, a cheerful grin that was too friendly-looking for comfort and bright red, chin length hair that seemed to be more dyed than natural. The girl was wearing a pastel flower-patterned sundress even though summer was already coming to an end and the start of fall would begin probably in just a few weeks, along with brown sandals and an assortment of wooden bracelets around either wrists.

The girl before her extended her arm, letting the bracelets collide with each other before pressing her lips to form a thin-lipped smile, which only made Alexa even more hesitant to accept the offer to shake hands.

"My name is Celeste Rose, and dare I say it is my utmost pleasure to meet you," the girl spoke with a high-pitched voice with a slight accent that Alexa couldn't really put a finger onto. "I assume you're a new student such as myself?"

"Um." Alexa wasn't sure whether to trust this girl or not, but seeing how she was yet to laugh at her behind her back and seemed really honest with her intentions, perhaps she might have just found her first friend in this doomed school. "Yes?"

The red-haired girl clapped her hands together, almost catching Alexa by surprise. "Brilliant! We are two sailors in the same boat, yes?" Before she could do anything to protest, the girl immediately took Alexa's hand in hers and started dragging her towards the west wing of the school. Alexa half-willingly followed her, struggling to catch up only for the strong grip around her wrist to be released once she finally did. "Come, I shall show you where the Admissions Office is. That is where we need to be, yes?"

Alexa didn't respond immediately and the girl, Celeste, immediately took notice of this. The petite redhead stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at Alexa with a face full of concern with a slight hint of guilt which almost made Alexa even more guilty in return.

"I... did it again, didn't I?" the girl asked with more hesitance this time, more than her overzealous self Alexa was faced with not too long ago. "I... apologize for my actions. As you've probably already guessed, I am not from around here. In fact, you can say that it has been... quite a while since I last mingled with other people my age. I hope you can forgive me for acting rather... peculiar compared to other people. I'm just... struggling to get used to this whole situation."

Alexa cocked an eyebrow and shook her head. "Nah, it's okay—you're not the strangest thing I've seen in this town so far." She thought back to the monstrous creature she saw on her way here earlier. She still couldn't shake that haunting image out of her head. "Were you, um... homeschooled or something?"

Celeste bobbed her head from side to side for a moment before answering, "Something like that, yes. Oh—and you have yet to introduce yourself to me! My apologies, but may I know what your name is?"

Alexa smiled. The girl was definitely strange and definitely unlike any other she'd ever met before, but perhaps she could find a friend in this petite redhead. It seemed inevitable for the two to be friends when, as she'd said earlier, they were two lost sailors on the same boat that drifted aimlessly through the ocean.

 _Us outcasts need to stick together_ , she thought and said to her new friend, "My name is Alexandra. Alexandra Young, but you can just call me Alexa."

"Alexandra," Celeste repeated to herself. "It suits you well. But as much as I'd like to stay and chat more, perhaps find a few shared interest, I'm afraid that we need to make our way to the Admissions Office in a hurry if we do not wish to be late for class." She nodded towards the hallway stretched out before them. "It is located somewhere there. I've studied the layout of this school long before you got here—just don't ask me how."

Alexa pressed her lips to a thin line and continued on forwards. "Okay, then I won't." _Do I even want to know?_

* * *

The sound of the door slamming shut caught the attention of every single student in the classroom, including both Alexa and Celeste, who happened to be sharing Homeroom along with a couple of other subjects together. They had been discussing their respective backgrounds—although Celeste had been very vague when discussing about hers—when their eyes snapped to the front of the class where a man in his late forties stood with perfect posture that none of them had, a receding hairline to his short black hair along with a pair of glasses situated at the bridge of his nose.

When they first got to the Admissions Office, the woman that was sitting behind her desk and a mountain-high pile of papers, folders and binders shot out of her seat and welcomed the two new students with a certain degree of friendliness that crossed Alexa's boundaries. With curly, shoulder-length blonde hair, cat-eye glasses, a white blouse and a black pencil skirt, she definitely looked like the 'crazy cat lady' stereotype, which only made Alexa act even more wary around her.

The two girls were given their schedules and class locations while informed that their books were already in their lockers to make things a lot easier for them. Unlike Silvercrest High, Alexa's former high school used to have Advanced Placement that Alexa got to enroll in for a year, something that was not offered here in Silvercrest. Instead, she took the regular, compulsory subjects along with journalism and French as electives after some hesitation, only because she had mild interest in either subjects.

Celeste had raised a curious eyebrow when she eyed French in Alexa's schedule. "Very...interesting," was all that she said before she offered to head for their lockers and to their shared homeroom together, something she accepted since she didn't want to look completely like a lonely loser.

Surprisingly, her plan did work. The others paid little to no attention to the two, except from several crude comments about their overall appearance from what she figured were part of the popular clique judging by their excessive make-up, high ponytails, matching cheerleading outfits and designer bags leaning by the side of their tables. Not to mention the fact that they were surrounded by the jocks who wore their letterman jackets and started high-fiving each other for no reason at all while occasionally disturbing the other denizens of this school. Alexa wouldn't even be surprised if all of them had arrived in their own personal vehicles, something that she knew she would never have with her family's current financial condition.

There were other stereotypical high school cliques, too. There were the bookish nerds, whose knowledge and expertise would undeniably intimidate Alexa's lack of them. A little bit cooler but still deemed as losers were the gamer geeks, and although Alexa used to play several casual games like The Sims and even tried a hand at DoTA for once, she knew she would easily be ridiculed by them, too. There some kids who looked like they belonged in the mafia, with their mohawks, biker jackets, jeans and boots, and also the hipsters, who were their exact opposites with their pastel clothes, peculiar fashion and their affinity for the unordinary. The goths were the only other option aside from the popular kids that Alexa didn't even consider joining at all.

All their hushed conversations were immediately silenced by the man currently standing before the rest of the class, who walked over to the teacher's desk, set his books down and grabbed a black marker, scribbling the words 'Mr. Rhodes' across the whiteboard.

"Good morning, class!" He set the marker down and crossed his arms in front of him. "My name is Mr. Rhodes and I'm assigned to both be your homeroom and U.S. history teacher for the rest of this school year." He plastered a cryptic, thin-lipped smile that ran cold shivers down Alexa's spine. She prayed that the school didn't hire pedophiles as teachers like some other schools in the country she heard of in the news. "Welcome back to school to returning students—don't forget to attend the party tonight, and don't forget to bring your insect repellant, too. As for the two new students who have just started their first year of high school here..."

His eyes darted towards the two students sitting awkwardly in the back, who happened to be both Alexa and Celeste. The two of them shot nervous glances at one another, instantly knowing that nothing good was about to happen.

"Don't worry, kids," said Mr. Rhodes as his smile broadened and waved a dismissive hand. "I'm not gonna ask you to stand up here in front of class to introduce yourself. I'm quite proficient in recognizing faces and matching them with names, personality and attitude. I'll learn more about you two throughout the year. Now let's see here." He took a checklist in his hands and scanned over the page, glancing back and forth from it to the two timid students in the back of the class. "Let me guess. You," he pointed at Alexa, "are Alexandra Young, and the Strawberry Shortcake beside you is Celeste Rose."

Widening their eyes at the same time, they exchanged glances before nodding slowly with slight hesitation. Mr. Rhodes, in contrast to the girls, seemed genuinely pleased by his correct assumptions and tilted his chin upwards to celebrate his pride, but was cut short—much to Alexa's relief, though not to her surprise since the teacher arrived almost ten minutes late—when the school bell rang outside and echoed down the hallways and to each classroom, signifying the end of the period.

Without any second glance back, almost all students simultaneously stood up and out of their seats, gathered their things with them and began piling to the door. Celeste immediately stood up and joined the others without hesitation while Alexa took a moment to recover from what had just happened before bending over to grab her own bag and head for the door.

She didn't even realize how crowded the only high school in an entire but tiny mountainside town was until she stepped outside the class, and was suddenly faced with endless streams of students, many of them towering over her and making a giant wall that was almost impossible to penetrate. She'd lost sight of Celeste, too, though they did not share their respective next subject, which, for Alexa, was biology—a subject she wouldn't doubt she would fail at because she would never be able to memorize the terms properly despite her mother's occupation, but somehow needed as a background to her true passion, which was psychology.

She wasn't sure exactly why, but she'd always had a certain affinity towards psychology. Her mother was a nurse and medicine had been the field of study that she'd been pursuing since she was still young, but also there were something about having parents from the Asian community that made doctors, lawyers and businessmen the most desired occupations for Asian children to grow up and become into.

Vivienne was initially no different. She'd wanted her daughter to pursue a career in science, specifically chemistry since Alexa thought chemistry was all about mixing strange liquids she'd find leaking in the attic, in the backyard and all sorts of places. It wasn't until middle school did Alexa find herself exploring other subjects and interests, and after all the family and school drama she'd encountered throughout her life, along with all the times her mother and her friends had confided in her with their problems as though she was their psychiatrist, Alexa figured she might be a decent psychiatrist someday, too.

As she slowly eased her way into the highway of students, she was forced to move in their same pace as some of her fellow students started bumping into her left and right, front and back, scowling at her each time and sometimes accompanied with some cursing. People were competing with each other to see who could talk the loudest, and some of the boys had unfortunately begun yelling all the way from down the hallway, trying to rile up school spirits that she doubted anybody had. She was actually fearful that she would go deaf by the end of the day, and her body was being turned into a ragdoll that was currently being thrown all over the place like bullies throwing around their victim's most cherished belonging, and soon she barely knew where she was heading anymore after being bounced around against piles of bodies, the walls and sometimes the metal lockers. She didn't complain, nor did she dare to.

She was invisible, and that was the price to pay when you're invisible.

Just as she was about to turn around a corner and into what seemed to be a quieter, less crowded hallway than this main one, she got distracted by something that the jocks hollered from the distance that she didn't realize where she was heading until she suddenly collided with something hard, the resulting impact enough to cause her to stumble backwards and for her back to plummet and crash to the ground instead. Her bag, which was slung around one shoulder but much to her dismay, was not zipped closed properly, flung away from her grasp, along with the books and all her belongings inside of it as they were scattered all over the floor around her.

Pain shot through her back and head, causing her to grunt and wince as her hand automatically went up to the agonizing pain throbbing in her brain. Her vision was nothing but blackness but when she tried to open her eyes, everything became blurry like a camera out of focus. She had to blink several times before the things in her line of vision became more evident and detailed, but the first thing she saw that was right in front of her was an outstretched hand.

Unsure of what was happening, her eyes trailed up the extended arm until she could finally see a face, and gasped.


	3. Imbroglio

Her chocolate brown eyes immediately met his coal black ones, somehow stunned by how dark they were, almost the same shade as his raven hair, straight and just reached the top of his neck along with short, messy bangs that fell over his forehead. High cheekbones, strong jawline, fit and built body but subtle muscles showing from beneath his shirt and jacket, though his physical appearance indicated that he was probably around her age, if not more. He was clean-shaven and his skin looked pale enough that normal people would consider it sickly but it surprisingly complemented his youthful appearance well. With a black leather jacket, white t-shirt, ripped jeans and sneakers, his clothes made him look like one of the biker kids or even one of those bad boys Alexa had always read about in young adult novels these days, though he looked to be more of the school's resident heartbreaker than the resident troublemaker.

And she instantly hated him.

However, regardless of her first impression of him, she reluctantly took his hand after realizing that the throbbing pain in her head wouldn't let her get back up on her feet as easily as she hoped. He pulled her up with ease as though she weighed no more than a feather, his strength even surprising Alexa herself. Last time she checked, her BMI still deemed her slightly overweight than other typical girls of her height and age, something she had been trying to fix for the past few years, ever since she took her physical appearance more seriously than before.

"God, I'm so sorry," he was saying. "I should've seen where I was going. It was totally my fault."

Alexa didn't respond immediately. She was too enraptured by his voice; there was something pleasant and melodic about the deep, velvety and somewhat husky voice that seemed to be natural without even trying. It sent shivers down her spine, although whether or not she liked it was being contested in her conflicted mind. She dared say that it was angelic, even, as though he could compel her to do anything he wanted her to by just speaking to her in such a heavenly voice.

That was before she realized what was happening, and turned down the yellow brick road of fantasy and the grey asphalt road of reality. _Troublemakers wouldn't say that_ , she thought to herself, re-justifying her judgement of him, _but heartbreakers do_. She shook her head and brought the logic back into her head, replacing the frown on her face with a scowl as she immediately whipped her hand away from his before he could do anything else. A flash of guilt struck her heart for a moment when his face contorted with offense for a split second before it was masked by an expression of curiosity—despite how much she despised this person, she still didn't want to make a bad, long-lasting impression to others, especially when everybody around them were already staring at her and whispering behind her back.

"Don't be," she hissed quietly, ignoring the eyes set upon her, including his, and turned towards her books that were spread out all over the floor. Blood began rushing into her cheeks and she found herself wishing that she'd just stayed in bed earlier this morning, where her bed covers and curtains would shield her from the rest of the cruel world she lived in. It was a miracle that nobody had started to laugh at her yet; what was worse, however, was when she glanced at her surroundings, the other kids weren't laughing quietly to themselves and pointing fingers at her or taking embarrassing pictures of her and sending them to other kids in school, as she'd expected.

Instead, only the guys were snickering with amused smirks on their faces, while the girls were a different story. Their glares were accusing her, scorning her with looks of disgust and contempt. They did whisper amongst themselves but while staring at her with disdain, glancing back and forth from her to the young man standing before her. The only few of them that did have smiles on their faces did so maliciously, as though they had other devious intentions for her even after such an incident.

 _Just one bad luck after another,_ she scowled to herself while bending down for a quick moment to pick up one of her books, then another and a third. When she reached for the fourth book in front of her, her hand collided with someone else's, causing her to flinch away when an invisible electric shock ran through the veins in her hand while trying to bite down her tongue to avoid yelping out loud, which would have made her even more embarrassed than she already was. She rubbed it with her good hand and cursed under her breath. It wasn't painful to her, but it _was_ unexpected.

And when she looked up, she stared into the same pair of black orbs she did earlier, this time with a half-playful, half-guilty smile with his teeth biting into his lower lip, glancing down at the handful of the rest of her books which he'd already picked up without needing any call for aid whatsoever from Alexa herself.

"It's the least I can do," he said before he went around her and picked up her bag as well, stuffing the books back into the whimsy object before grabbing the ones that Alexa was holding and fitted them inside, too, before handing it back to her. She grabbed it by one of its straps but just stood there, unmoving, unfazed but unsettled. He then studied her profile for a minute and pointed a finger in the air in front of her. "Wait, aren't you one of the new kids who just moved here? What're the names again—"

"Alexandra," she said with some hesitation. She hadn't decided whether she could trust this young man or not, but sharing a name wouldn't hurt—or would it? "Alexandra Young, but my friends call me Alexa."

His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly and his eyes glinted with curiosity she'd never seen anybody look at her with. "Am I your friend, then? Can I just call you Alexa or would you rather like Alexandra…?"

"Okay, slow down there, buddy. And that does _not_ mean that we're friends." She found herself hating this person, whoever or whatever he was, even more.

"Okay, then." He extended his arm once again, and this time Alexa did not intend to accept it at all. "Damien Blackwell. No, I am _not_ the kid from _The Omen_ series and I promise you I am not the Antichrist. I am also not the musician or the artist. Just because we all share the same name and it's not a particularly common name, doesn't mean I'm the same person as all those people." When she simply stared warily at the hand and left him hanging for a few seconds too long, he folded his hand and brought it back to his side. "I'm guessing you're not a people person, huh? Still mad about earlier? I said I'm sorry, all right? Do you want me to go down on my knees and beg for forgiveness? Because I can and I will, if I have to."

She couldn't believe the words he was saying and shook her head violently. "What? No. God no. Look, I'm not that pissed, believe me. We can forget it ever happened at all." _Probably because a bunch of other girls staring at us already wishes I'm dead because of how they're all staring at you with sickening dreamy-eyes and how you're talking to me, a literal nobody._ "I just want to get to class without being tardy on the first day, all right?"

Just as she was about to turn around and leave the boy where he stood, his hand reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, forcing her to turn back around as she now stared at him with annoyance. _What's with this guy?_

He exhaled deeply, glancing around nervously while his eyes refused to meet hers this time around. "Hey, look—why don't I walk you to class? I mean, no offense, but you seem pretty lost there before I smacked you head on earlier. What's your next class?"

She sighed impatiently. Even if she ignored him, she figured he was one of the type of people who wouldn't get off your back until you told him what he wanted to hear. It was annoying, even if that meant that she could stick around him for a little longer—something that she found herself wanting to do despite her own logic sense—more than she knew she should.

"Biology."

His entire face lit up, as though he was a starving homeless man who was just given a slice of bread and a bottle of water for the first time in weeks. It scared her. "Well, coincidentally, that's _my_ next subject, too. You're a junior this year, right?" She sighed again before nodding. Why was he doing this, and why was she still going through with it? "That's great, then! Hey, maybe Mr. Simms will even pair us up as lab partners! Give us some time to know each other a little better, you know."

 _No, I don't,_ she groaned internally. _And God, I hope not._ She wanted to decline his offer and head there on her own, even though they would both be going the same direction. At least she knew the general direction, however, which she figured was good enough and she would be able to find the classroom all by herself, without constantly being the damsel-in-distress with a terrible sense of direction.

Glancing at a clock above one of the classroom doors along the hallway, however, and finally noticing that there weren't that many people left loitering around the halls, she reconsidered his offer. If she took too long in finding this god-forsaken classroom, she was going to be late and detention would be the final hell of the day, worse than even this incident alone. It wouldn't look good in her permanent records—detention on the first day of school wouldn't appeal as much in her future college application—and his intentions seemed genuine and honest enough that she might put some trust in him, though not all of it. She still had walls and fences she felt she needed whenever she would be around him. But she supposed that a friendly helping hand shouldn't be too troublesome at all.

Besides, she was going to need all the help she could get if she were to survive high school here. The strange mist must've had some hallucinating effects after what she'd witnessed earlier this morning, and the residents here might look welcoming in the outside but she had a feeling that they were all just masks to hide something more sinister underneath. She didn't want to know what, but if there was some indication from someone that looked as though they could help her in some way— _any_ way—she might have to rethink her judgement on them more than just twice.

The trip to their unfortunately-shared biology class was short and silent, to Alexa's relief. He did not say anything else to her nor did she want to herself, though she could see his hidden smile despite being a few paces behind him, staring only at the back of his head, at his raven-black hair, with only a little of his face turned to her whenever they turned around the corner. She was, however, not wrong about being late to class. When they first entered the room, whatever conversations their classmates were having immediately ceased and all eyes turned to the two of them. The glares returned to her while none of the girls dared to stare at Damien except a select few who she did not doubt were part of the popular clique.

One of them, a girl with long, wavy, golden blonde hair that practically shone under the bright lighting of the room, stunning features that were practically perfect and quickly earned Alexa's envy, wearing a white top underneath a denim cardigan and jeans, made immediate and intense eye-contact with Alexa that she forced herself to look away, terrified of the sheer look of murder in her eyes as soon as she spotted her with Damien.

"Late to class on the first day of school, Mr. Blackwell?" The teacher, Mr. Simms, glared at the two of them with arms crossed in front of him with irritation written all over his aged, wrinkled face. He looked to be in his late forties, with olive skin and salt-and-pepper hair that looked more like a wig than natural. "And you brought a friend with you, too."

"Won't happen again, Mr. Simms," Damien said quickly with a confident grin all over his face that Alexa wished he didn't have, should they avoid getting in any more trouble with their clearly-displeased teacher. "I'm turning over a new leaf this year, I swear."

"I'll believe you when I see cows jumping over the moon," the teacher scowled, rolling his eyes before he turned to Alexa. "I do not wish to see this sort of behavior in the future, all right, Ms. Young? I'll excuse you this time, just because I know this is your first day of school. Believe it or not, this place is a lot bigger than it seems, so I'd suggest getting used to knowing where your classrooms are so that you can get there in less than five minutes, all right? Next time, detention. Remember that."

Alexa couldn't help sighing. The teachers back at her old school would've sent her straight to an hour of detention after dismissal time, even for new students, if they were ever late. There was a certain level of discipline there that scared all the students into being quiet and more disciplined than students in most schools, so much that Alexa often thought of her fellow schoolmates as robots, especially during class time. She was only lucky enough to find friends in the more relaxed students, those who, to her, prioritized their personal and social lives rather than just their grades.

"Now both of you, pick a seat, anywhere you like. I won't start assigning you lab partners until next week, but for now, I'd like to discuss a few basic rules of the class." Mr. Simms's statement received a negative response from majority of the class that had erupted into a series of complaints, just before he hushed them all back into silence. "Afterwards, I'll explain a little bit of what we're going to learn for the rest of the year, and maybe look into the first chapter if we have enough time."

More groaning, and this time they weren't silenced at all as Alexa and Damien parted ways towards different directions of the class. She immediately found an empty seat near the back of the class and against the wall, where she could safely hide and avoid attention from most of the class and the teacher himself. She dropped her backpack next to her desk and couldn't help but search for Damien, who had settled in somewhere in the middle of the class. She didn't even realize there was an empty seat left there for him, until she realized that he was, in fact, sitting right beside the blonde who was staring daggers at her earlier, moments before she witnessed them lean towards each other and kissed.

Her heart ached in defeat. _Of course he had a girlfriend,_ she scolded herself, destroying any shred of hope for him left inside her. She was even surprised by her own feeling of disappointment; it wasn't like she liked him or anything, right? She _despised_ him from the second she first saw him, and she thought that would be her final judgement of him that would forever be planted into her head. And yet, she didn't realize that there was still a part of her, regardless how tiny it was compared to the enormous size of her stubbornness, that actually hoped that she _could_ be somewhat closer to him, perhaps in a way that was more than just friends.

And she hadn't even decided whether they were officially friends or not.

She couldn't resist having her eyes remaining at the couple even when Mr. Simms had launched into a practiced speech about his personal class rules in addition to the school's. Their lip lock had turned into quite a passionate make-out moment before he was the first to pull away, but his hand quickly found hers as the two began laughing and presumably speaking romantic nothings at one another until Mr. Simms called them out and told them to step out of the class if they continued such behavior.

Alexa clenched her jaw and finally found the strength inside her to tear her eyes away. When their laughter became louder and were accompanied by whom she assumed were their friends, also few of the popular kids, she couldn't help but have an unpleasant thought appearing in her mind; one that involved Damien speaking to his girlfriend about what happened just minutes earlier, starting from the moment she'd crashed straight onto him, and sharing his mocking views about Alexa, probably making fun of her clumsy behavior and her horrible appearance.

And he was being so nice to her earlier, too. The regret on his face seemed completely genuine, which was why she'd relented into letting him accompany her all the way to class. Had the entire gentlemanly act been nothing but a terrible, cruel lie? A ruse, only to fool her into trusting him while giving her a chance to stab her in the back when she least expected? How many more tricks was he planning to use on her the next time they encountered one another?

 _Another lie,_ she thought darkly to herself, bringing her eyes away from them and onto the cream-colored wooden desk in front of her, struggling to not let her emotions get the better of her that they would be exposed in her outer self as well. _Another heartbreaker._

Despite being able to restrain her emotions from overflowing, she couldn't stop the flurry of memories that came right after them, immediately flooding into her mind like a disastrous tsunami, wrecking everything else in its path. Memories of her past life back in the town she grew up in, a life that she'd just abandoned the night before when she finally gathered the courage to let go of the one person she kept holding onto even when she shouldn't.

Turning her focus into her studies, she solemnly took out her notebook and flipped open a random page while tuning into Mr. Simms droning on about how he demanded a high level of discipline from them, especially in his class, a lecture that she seemed to have heard multiple times before in her previous school. She tried paying no attention whatsoever to the center of the class where Damien and his girlfriend was, though it proved to her rather difficult when staring at her teacher's direction meant that she was staring at _their_ direction, too.

 _Why am I making such a big deal out of it?_ She began to scold herself, something she always did whenever her feeling of self-loathing decided to overwhelm her thoughts. This time, she hated how she was already having mixed emotions towards someone who she barely knew, who was clearly taken and who she should hate in a million ways more than just one. More importantly, she hated the fact that she should've known better after what happened last time.

Fortunately for her, class went over quickly, though not quick enough as she literally counted the seconds that passed and how many more she had to live through before she could get out of that torturous room. Once Mr. Simms dismissed the class, she didn't think twice before grabbing her bag and immediately bolting out of the room without a single word spoken. Just as she passed the couple, however, she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder to notice the sheer look of confusion on Damien's face while the same glare had returned to his blonde girlfriend's.

Clearly the girl hated her now. She'd just showed up in class less than an hour ago with her boyfriend, and she didn't even know they were dating. She'd casually accepted his offer to walk her to class just because she thought it would get her in less trouble than she already was, only to realize that she could've dodged a bullet with both the teacher and the girlfriend if she hadn't taken his offer. It wasn't like Alexa had intended to steal her boyfriend away from her. She barely even liked him at this point, especially after the horrible thoughts her mind conjured up earlier in class.

There was a slight tug in her heart that almost compelled her to say something— _anything_ —to them, perhaps to apologize in case the girlfriend thought anything funny had happened between her and Damien when the only thing that happened was an embarrassing mishap that deemed her as a klutzy student for at least a week now. Despite the urge, she remained silent and kept her mouth shut as she disappeared from their line of vision and rejoined the stream of students, even ignoring the fact that she was being a human ragdoll again as she wandered around to find her next class, silently hoping that nothing unfortunate would happen to her again this time around.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she met up with Celeste just as she turned around the corner that led to her next class—without bumping into anybody this time—and immediately told her what had happened, hoping that her new friend would give some insight to her, and maybe even an advice or two.

"Whoa, hold on there," the redhead exclaimed with wide eyes as soon as Alexa finished telling her story to her. Their teacher hadn't arrived yet, which gave them both some time to talk as they chose a seat right next to each other. Alexa couldn't help but notice that _he_ wasn't sharing a class with her this time, much to her relief. "Did I hear you correctly? You bumped into _Damien Blackwell_ , had him walk you to class because he offered to and _escaped_ with your head intact?"

Alexa scrunched her forehead, staring at Celeste with a look of confusion. "That's quite the exaggeration. I mean, she sure looks mean but I don't think she can do any real harm to me other than possibly ruining my social life until I graduate from this damned place, something that I can't care less about, actually."

"Well, first of all, you do not know how damned this place actually is." A flash of regret momentarily appeared in her eyes before it disappeared as soon as Alexa noticed it. "But this is Meredith Cromwell we're talking about. She is not just what you would typically call the 'Queen Bee' of this school, but she is probably the literal queen of Silvercrest High itself. On top of that, she has a seat in the Town Council for some unknown reason, and she is not even of legal age to do that yet. She has _that_ much influence, just so you know."

Alexa shrugged. "So? It can't be that bad; I didn't even flirt with him on the way there. Also, how the hell would you know anything about her? I thought you were homeschooled?"

"Homeschooled does not mean that I do not have at least a friend or two who knows what happens around town," said Celeste as she added a mischievous wink. "And let's just say, nothing good ever happens to people who messed with her, including and especially people who messed with her boyfriend, none other than the bad boy Damien Blackwell himself." She sighed. "I've always read fictional stories like these—you know, the only place where I can actually learn what other teenagers are like. I never thought my first day of high school would be similar to such stories, happening to the only person I've made friends with here so far."

Alexa didn't respond but simply stared at her friend. Half of her was still in disbelief—how much could one person trouble her when they'd barely spoken to each other yet—but half of her was terrified for her own throat. Of course she had to mess with just the wrong person on the first day. Of course her life wouldn't be any better once she moved here.

She didn't get a chance to reply when the teacher finally arrived, a woman in her middle ages just like most of the teachers they had in the school. It was algebra class and the teacher, Mrs. Rosales, started off the class unlike most teachers did, which was usually introducing themselves and which topics they would have to stress about for the exams that they would learn throughout the year, but rather she immediately began writing down sums for the class to solve, something that Celeste struggled with slightly, Alexa had noticed, but the latter quite proficient in. She thought it was ironic considering how she loathed the subject for ultimately being useless in real life, but until she was a legal adult and could make decisions all on her own, she was just another mindless slave of the school.

At least it got her mind off the dark-eyed boy her mind still subconsciously conflicted about, as well as his Californian-beauty of a girlfriend who had milk-pale skin rather than tanned. She still had the rest of the school year to worry about them, anyway.


	4. Cromulent

Alexa stood in front of the mirror and stared down at the reflection of her navy-blue sweater and light blue skinny jeans. Celeste was sprawled across her bed, curiously exploring the depths of her friend's smartphone—Alexa thought it was rather strange that the only cellphone Celeste had ever owned was an old Nokia model that was first released about a decade ago—but unlike her appearance earlier at school, she was wearing a white top with a knot tied around her waist, an old light pink cardigan Alexa had lent her along with a pair of brown shorts and flip flops.

An uneasy feeling appeared in Alexa's stomach, giving her nausea at the worst timing possible. She was going to a party—the statement itself was repeated over and over again in her mind as an attempt to make it believable when, to her, it still wasn't and would probably never be. Veronica had wanted her daughter to gain as much teenage experience as possible and had no qualms about letting her attend a high school party, but the part that Alexa still couldn't get over with was the fact that the party was to be attended by almost the entire student body, somewhere deep in the middle of the forest instead of school grounds for some reason, and would probably end up with more than a few unwanted incidents and maybe a couple police arrests for drunk driving or property trespassing.

It was definitely not the type of experience she wanted to have, and definitely not something she planned to occupy the rest of her night with.

She could've done something else. Studying wasn't much of an option because she was past that now, but maybe she could've catch up on the countless books still on her reading list. Or perhaps even watch the last few episodes of _Attack on Titan._ Maybe browse YouTube for new people to subscribe to or even wander mindlessly around the depths of Tumblr.

Instead, she stood before a mirror, making sure that she at least looked decent as to not embarrass herself, minutes away from leaving to go to a _party_.

Of course, it hadn't been her own idea in the first place. Celeste had convinced her to 'accompany' her to the party, ever since a student who was actually friendly invited them over to the 'Back to School' party despite being new students.

"He told me that just because we are new here, that does not mean that we are not returning to school," Celeste had said to her, albeit with a hint of a frown. "Even though, this _is_ my first time going to school. I suppose it would be a great chance for us to _mingle_ with others instead. Is that the word? 'Mingle'?"

Alexa was shaking her head. She did not want to 'mingle' with people who could potentially ruin the rest of the next two years for her while she was here. But she did not want to return back to her old town either, so she did not have much of a choice anyway. And when Celeste asked rather awkwardly to Alexa whether or not she had more _appropriate_ clothes for such an event, Alexa was all too happy to give away a few pieces of spare clothes that she'd already grew out of due to being the 'cursed growth spurt' she called herself as during her pre-teenage years.

"You look fine, Alexandra," said the girl herself, causing Alexa to glance over her shoulder at her friend. "Stop worrying yourself about your appearance. In fact, you should not worry about it at all if you do not want to catch the eye of the bitch's boyfriend tonight. That's the word, right?"

" _Language_ , Celeste," the raven-haired girl hissed under her breath, but hid a smile from her. "My mom's still downstairs. And don't ever call me 'Alexandra,' please. It sounds so… _formal_ , and a bit mouthful, too."

"But it is a beautiful name, and I am simply telling you this from the perspective of a fellow friend. I bet you do not even know what it means: 'the protector of mankind.' That's why I'm counting on you tonight to protect me from any unwanted incidents."

"Yeah? Well, no offense, but mankind can go to hell for all I care," Alexa scowled bitterly. "Other than my family and the few friends that I still have—I guess that includes you now—I can't care less about anyone else. It's not like mankind has ever done anything for me other than making my life a literal hell hole."

Celeste didn't respond, nor did Alexa wanted any response for her. She glanced over her shoulder for a moment and saw that she'd gone back to distracting herself with Candy Crush Saga now as her green eyes lit up as much as the LCD screen did, with all the bright colors that Alexa found annoying reflecting off the green orbs. Knowing that Celeste didn't necessarily take any of what she'd said to heart, Alexa turned her attention back to her outfit.

She'd intentionally picked a dark color that she hoped would blend in with her surroundings and would make her less noticeable amongst the crowd. It was still her first full day here and she didn't want to find any more trouble than she already had, but Celeste's idea of fun and socializing clearly contradicted Alexa's own need for invisibility among the student body.

Avoiding Damien Blackwell was one of the reasons for that need for invisibility. She'd wished he would just disappear from the face of the Earth so that she wouldn't lose her own face. She could already sense Meredith's impending wrath from ten feet away during biology class, and the only form of interaction ever done between the two of them were locked eyes and exchanging glares. Alexa couldn't imagine how her daily life would be like if she ever had any unnecessary encounters with Damien ever again.

 _It's not going to happen tonight, though_ , she thought to herself, trying to settle her trembling nerves. _He probably doesn't even remember me. I'm just a nobody in a world full of somebodies. I was probably never even there._

"Can you not have an existential crisis right before we leave for a party?" Alexa turned around to stare at her friend. She'd finally put the phone down, but was still lying horizontally on the bed with her feet dangling from the edge of the bed. "I've heard it's a thing that a lot of people can have nowadays."

"Haha, jokes on you because I'm not having one—right now, at least." Trying to cover up for the awkward silence that might follow, she acted quickly as moved to where Celeste was, snatching the phone from her reach and stuffing it to her back pocket. "C'mon, then. Let's just get this over with already."

The forest did not turn out to be far away from where her new house was; Celeste, despite being 'homeschooled' as she claimed to be, seemed to know her way around town, surprising even Alexa who thought the former was just as new here as she was. As they turned around the corner of the street and entered a new block and row of houses, they spotted a few others who were about the same age as they were leaving their houses, gathering into small groups and heading towards the same direction Alexa and Celeste were. They laughed and talked like old friends, leaving the latter two tailing them from behind as one glanced at them indifferently while the other only became ever more anxious but eager to socialize with people she'd only been watching from afar for the past couple of years.

The night was bitter cold and more hostile towards them than Alexa thought. Autumn wind blew across the town, piercing through the few layers they had put on, making them wish they had worn warmer clothes instead. A cluster of moths buzzed from a nearby lamp post, crowding around its dim yellow bulb, and she could've sworn there was a mosquito hovering around her, waiting for a chance to get its first bite of the night. They were just few of the reasons why she never wanted to get out of the comforts of her new home in the first place.

Soon they reached the borders of the forest where the cinderblocks that enclosed the main road broke apart to reveal a dirt path cleared of any wild weeds that veered off the asphalt road. The trail led deep into the woods, into the dark unknown. Glancing at each other, both Alexa and Celeste were hesitant to follow the rest of the students down the dirt path but reluctantly followed anyway, while wrapping their arms around themselves as though they would shield them from whatever terror that might come for them from deep inside the woods.

It felt like a walk through the Forbidden Forest in front of Harry Potter's Hogwarts. The trees towered over them and casted long shadows across the ground. The tree trunks were massive but scattered across the vast ground, with their giant roots sticking out and creating obstacles in their way while the leaves in the treetops created an endless canopy more than just several feet up above them, looking as if the trees could touch the skies. The soil was uneven, too, creating tiny hills while the trail was made obvious by the shrubbery, bushes and brambles that sat by the sidelines. The group were not alone; she could hear the sound of an owl hooting in the distance, a few crows croaking and crickets that broke the silence. One of the girls in skimpy clothing ahead of them shrieked all of a sudden, and when Alexa turned to her, she could see a cricket hopping harmlessly away and back into the safety of the bushes.

It was not long before they could hear the electronic music blaring in the distance. Alexa sighed in relief but scowled at how far the location of the party was from normal civilization. _How the hell am I going to find my way back home like this?_ Celeste, however, started jumping up and down ecstatically as her face lit up, along with a few other fellow partygoers in the group with them.

A bright ray of neon light shined across Alexa's vision, blinding her for a short moment. When she regained her vision, it seemed as though everything before her had changed; a small dirt clearing was before them and practically filled with people, all of whom Alexa could guess was her fellow schoolmates. There were banners hung across the trees surrounding them with the words 'BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY' written in fancy lettering. The electronic music was deafening and strobe lights lit the area like a nightclub. The main attraction of the night, however, was the massive bonfire in the very center of the clearing, where many of the students were gathered around, some roasting marshmallows and chatting with their friends while other were dancing to the music.

The group they were following immediately dispersed as they went to enjoy the party, leaving the two outcasts alone by the sidelines, helplessly looking around as they both attempted to search for a face they recognized other than each other. Unfortunately, they did; a group that seemed to stand out above everyone else, and standing in the very center of the group was none other than the school's queen bee Meredith Cromwell. Her blonde hair was tied to an elaborate braided updo, her eyes adorned with black mascara and eyeliner, standing out against her pale skin along with the bright red lipstick. Wearing a preppy pink shirt with a pearl necklace, white skirt, stockings and white Mary Janes, Alexa thought she would've mistaken her inevitable rival as a teacher chaperoning the party.

Her eyes inadvertently travelled to the person Meredith was speaking directly to, who, much to her dismay, was another familiar face—one with raven-black hair and eyes as dangerous as it was to even attempt to converse with him. He was facing her, too, and for a second, his eyes looked beyond Meredith's shoulder and immediately locked into Alexa's. Stunned, the girl held her breath as a look of recognition dawned on Damien's face, disappearing almost immediately as soon as he realized that his girlfriend was right in front of her and the two ladies weren't in particularly good terms.

Alexa sighed in relief. She banished any thoughts of him away from her mind. She was here to have fun, not to dwell in a nonexistent world where they were still in good terms and she was not in Meredith's crosshairs.

Nearby, Alexa noticed the refreshments table, where several partygoers were drinking their worries away with plastic cups of punch and bottles of beer. She knew exactly what she needed to take her mind off of the couple now.

"Hey, Celeste?" She turned around to her crimson-haired friend, who had just snapped out of a daze of her own. "You wanna grab a drink?"

Alexa nodded towards the refreshments table, but when Celeste's eyes followed where Alexa's had, the enthusiastic smile turned into an uncertain, almost disgusted frown.

"Um, I think I'll pass," she replied, nearly gagging. "Another time, perhaps? But if you need me, I will be by the bonfire trying to roast some marshmallows. I haven't tried any my entire life, but I've heard that they are simply divine. Might as well use this opportunity to experience as much as I can, right?"

Alexa managed a closed-lip smile before watching her friend disappear into the sea of bodies before them, heading straight for the center of the clearing. _Thank God I'm not homeschooled!_ she thought to herself, sighing in relief as she turned to head to the red-clothed table.

The drunk partygoers departed from the table right as she approached it, but she tried to ignore the thought that they might be leaving because of her. _Maybe they've had enough for the night_ , she told herself, smiling to herself as she grabbed the neck of an unopened beer bottle. Fruit punch wasn't going to do it tonight—she was going to need something stronger to get her mind off everything that happened today.

Just as she was reaching for the bottle cap opener, however, her hand accidentally collided with someone else's. Out of instinct she flinched away, but when she looked up, the frown returned to her face when she saw one of the last people she wanted to talk to tonight.

"Need a hand?" he said with a mischievous tone in his voice, waving the bottle opener in his hand as the other snatched the beer bottle away from her grasp. He uncapped the bottle with ease before handing it back to her, then grab another unopened one and uncapped it for himself as well.

He raised the bottle. "To a fantastic new school year," he said, but when she merely stared at him with narrowed eyes, he shrugged and took a swig off the bottle anyway. "I know what you're thinking, and believe me, things are not as bad as you may think it is."

"Oh, enlighten me, then," she replied in a monotone voice, slightly irritated by his confidence, which was starting to become a little bit too obnoxious in her eyes.

He shook the bottle a little as he placed his palm flat on the table, leaning onto his arm while smirking up at her. "Well, for one, I caught you staring at me back in Biology class."

"So? I bet you get a _lot_ of that from all the other girls, too, right? Especially your girlfriend, that's why I stopped before she decapitates my head. The view wasn't worth it, anyway."

He only seemed more amused by her response. "I have to admit, I do get stared a lot, but so far, you're the only one I want to return the favor to. If only you weren't too far in the back of the class—you are aware that there was another empty seat like two spots away from me, right? Or were you just trying to avoid Mr. Simms' wrath? If that's so, then I guess that's understandable."

Raising an eyebrow, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. "Have you been paying attention to what I'm saying, _at all_? Your _girlfriend_ was there. I didn't join your little party in class because she will probably tear all the hair out of my scalp judging by the glares she's been giving me just by entering class with you. Which is the same reason why I would rather be anywhere doing anything else other than right here, talking to you when we're both fully aware that she's probably going to kill me once she sees me here."

Both his eyebrows quirked up, ever more intrigued by Alexa's choice of words. "Don't you think that's a little bit too exaggerated? I can assure you Meredith is _not_ as bad as you think she may be, or as you were told she is."

"That's a biased opinion for all I know, and I can't confirm your statement until proven otherwise—or really, until she stops glaring at me whenever she sees us talking to one another." She paused and glanced over his shoulder. Following where her eyes went, the two of them immediately spotted Meredith, still where Damien had left her, just in time as the blonde girl looked away from them and turned her attention to someone beside her speaking to her.

Although almost unnoticeable, Alexa caught Damien wincing slightly before turning back to her. "Yeah, she can be a little… sensitive, if you ask me, but she won't cut your throat or anything, if _that_ 's what you're implying." The corner of his lips quirked up. "But just because I'm her boyfriend, I don't think that 'jealousy' might be the reason to her… rather _hostile_ behavior. Reputation, probably, as unlikely as it seems, or maybe even her possessiveness over me. What I'm trying to say is that… I know she doesn't, you know, _love_ me the way most couples are with each other."

Alexa widened both eyes as soon as she heard this. "Then why are you dating her then?"

He paused and sighed. "Because I don't have a choice."

Surprised, Alexa parted her lips to question him only to for the sound of microphone feedback to cut her off. All heads immediately turned towards the source of the feedback, and instead saw Meredith standing in front of the bonfire with a microphone in one hand while the other was placed on her hips. Scanning the crowd with sharp eyes, they zeroed in on Alexa and Damien for a split second before she sharply turned away with a frown on her lips. Alexa held back a scoff, fully aware that her boyfriend was standing right next to her.

"Good evening and welcome to all students of Silvercrest High." The fearless leader of the popular clique put a warm, almost welcoming smile upon her face, but many, including both Alexa and Damien, knew better than to be tricked into the false sense of friendliness. "As you may know already, my name is Meredith Cromwell and I am honored to be this year's head of the Student Council. I welcome you to this party, which is a tradition to all returning Silvercrest High students, but let us not forget the new faces who will be joining us for the rest of this year, some of which may contribute to the betterment or… perhaps even worsening of our community. Nonetheless, we shall keep our optimism with us and hope for the best, but until then, shall we give them a proper welcome?"

Alexa held her breath, and for a moment, she could practically feel Meredith's eyes pin-pointing at her, knowing that she was right in her crosshairs.

"Let's start with the freshmen first," Meredith continued, and began to list off names, none of which Alexa recognized. One by one, people stepped forward from the crowd and joined Meredith at center stage, all lining up to form a neat line. Once the new freshmen had been called one by one, the sophomores were up next, then the juniors. By the time each new sophomore's name had been mentioned, Alexa could've sworn her heart was beating so fast that Damien might've heard it.

And by damn he did.

"Calm down there, buddy." She looked up just as he patted her on the back, but the look on his face was a mix of amusement and pure concern. "What's wrong? A little stage fright? She's not gonna bite you, you know."

She sighed. "Your girlfriend certainly knows how to ruin someone's day, huh?"

To her surprise, he laughed. "She certainly does. But as long as we're in school grounds—and we're technically are right now—this will be the most she can do. Maybe humiliate you, maybe ruin your high school reputation until it affects your college reputation, but nothing else. At least, I'll make sure of it."

Not the slightest bit comforted by his words, she turned back to the blonde, becoming ever more anxious to get the night over with already.

"Next, we have the juniors," Meredith said with a teasing smirk. "Also known as my potential classmates for this year. First off, we have—ooh, a homeschooled student! Well, _this_ will certainly be interesting. Please step forward… Celeste Rose."

As soon as she said this, Alexa spotted a familiar face emerging from the crowd, and the joy in the redhead's eyes were certainly long gone now. In its place was fear and hesitation, and though she took a brief moment to pause where she stood, looking around uncertainly, Meredith beckoned her to join the former by the bonfire. Reluctantly and timidly, Celeste complied.

"Next, we have a transfer from the neighboring town of Prior Lake." She could've sworn Meredith's smile turned sinister as they locked eyes. There was something about the icy blue eyes that sent a cold shiver down Alexa's spine, creating an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Alexandra Young, would you mind coming up here and say hello?"

She would mind, but she didn't have a choice lest she'd be dragged all the way there. She joined Celeste and Meredith with as much reluctance as the former did, and when they turned to look back at the crowd that applauded for them in a semi-forced manner, Alexa couldn't help but search for Damien again, and once she found his dark eyes, he could only give her a small pity smile for solace.

"I'm sure we'll be seeing each other quite often, won't we, girls?"

Meredith's booming voice startled Alexa as she broke eye contact with him and turned back to the she-devil behind her, with her red-lipped smile and both hands placed on either of their backs. Both Alexa and Celeste looked at each other uncertainly, fully aware that Meredith was not there to be best friends with them any time soon.

"As much as I want to go easy on newbies for once," the girl behind them continued, "that wouldn't be much fun, now would it?" She laughed, sending invisible spiders crawling up their skins. "Don't worry, I'm just messing around with you guys. I'm sure we'll have a great new school year ahead of us—I'll make sure of it."

Alexa nearly cringed at the finality of her words. Quickly taking this as a sign for them to leave, she smiled politely at the crowd before grabbing Celeste by her arm and dragged her back into the shadows. Once they were away from the spotlight, Alexa was caught by surprise when Celeste placed both hands on her shoulder, almost as if about to pull her into a hug until the latter caught side of the terror in the former's eyes and stopped there.

"Oh. My. God. That… was probably the closest I have ever been to bursting into tears," said Celeste. Alexa quickly noticed how pale her friend already was. _Maybe mingling with the popular kids isn't a good idea after all,_ she thought to herself, hoping Celeste finally understood why Alexa wanted to avoid this party in the first place.

"Hey, just calm down," she said instead, offering her a friendly smile. "It's not like _you_ were the one who got caught talking to her boyfriend for the second time in just the first day here."

"Oh, yeah, and there's that, too." Celeste shook her head. "How did that turn out for you, by the way? I simply cannot imagine how you must've felt up there. I, on the other hand, was absolutely mortified. We could've _died_ just now! How in the world do I still have my head intact?"

"Okay, _now_ I know you're shitting with me." She patted her friend's shoulder, which seemed to help as Celeste started calming down from her stage fright. _And there I thought you're more brave than I am in front of all those people_. "But… I can't say things are going well between him and I, but I don't think it ever will be if I want to stay away from Meredith's bad side."

"Touché." She stopped then thought it over. "That is the correct term, right? 'Touché?'"

And that was when she saw it again.

At first it appeared in the corner of her eye, almost unnoticeable if she hadn't picked up the strange pungent smell of sulfur in the air. When she narrowed her eyes and pin-pointed them at the slight trail of smoke appearing from behind a tree, a figure stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight, and that was when she held her breath.

It was that _thing_ again, only this time, she had more than just a moment to stop, stare and observe the tiniest details of it. Sparks of ember flickered across its ghostly form as the two orbs that served as its eyes glowed an eerie yellow before the creature parted its jaw and revealed its mouthful of black, sharpened fangs. A chilling shiver ran up her spine and goosebumps immediately lined her arms and legs, and although every single fiber of her being was telling her to run the hell away from whatever that creature was, her feet were glued to the ground and her knees turned to jelly, rendering her helpless as she witnessed the monstrosity before her very own eyes.

"Hey, I think I'll get another drink before we get ourselves out of here," she heard Celeste say to her beside her, but could not comprehend her friend's words as she studied the creature's movements carefully as it glanced from side to side, as if searching for something—hopefully, not searching for _her_. "I will be back in a moment, all right?"

Alexa didn't hear her leave, but felt the empty space around her once she was left completely alone. Still stunned to where she stood, she nearly choked on her own breath when the creature's eyes landed on her and growled.

"Alexa?"

She heard her name being called, but didn't acknowledge it. She was too terrified for her life to do so.

"Alexa!"

Her body suddenly shook, bringing her attention back to what was in front of her and realized that instead of Celeste, standing in front of her was now Damien, his eyes wide and confused. When she looked over his shoulder to where the creature last was, it was already gone, leaving a trail of black smoke where it once stood.

"Hey, Alexa!" His hand came up to her face, and instantly felt like a bucket of cold water was splashed onto straight to her face. Shaking her head, she nearly flinched away from her hand until she felt a tiny sliver of warmth on the skin where his hand was placed on, forcing her to look up and stare straight into his dark eyes. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

 _Why does everyone keep saying that?_ she thought to herself, still convinced that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her—not when she saw the same _thing_ , whatever it was, twice in one day.

"D-didn't you see t-that?" Her voice came out as incoherent stutter as she lifted a single finger, pointing to where the creature once was. "T-that… _thing_. I've seen it before, earlier this morning. What the hell _was_ that thing?"

Frowning, Damien looked over his shoulder. There was nothing left there—not even the burning patch of grass left by its wake that seemed to have been restored to its former health, as if the creature made out of embers and smoke was never there at all.

But when Damien turned back to her, she noticed the solemn look upon his face as he didn't reply for several moments, almost as if he was hesitant on what he was going to say to her.

He parted his lips and held both hands on her face, speaking just three simple words.

"Go to sleep."

And she fell into the darkness.


	5. Evanescent

**A/N:** Sorry I've postponed this chapter for so long and made it shorter than usual. In case you don't follow me in any of my social media accounts or Wattpad, I've been preoccupied with NaNoWriMo recently (I finished off strong with 50.3k words though). Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this and I hope this will shed some light on what's going on in this creepy town ;)

* * *

When Alexa woke up again the next morning, she felt like she just had the worst hangover of all time.

And she didn't even drink that much the previous night, too.

Her head throbbed as an excruciating headache sent her wincing just as she shot straight out of bed, startled and wide-awake. Memories of last night were blurred pictures in her mind as if they were taken by an old vintage camera, printed out in shades of black, white and gray. Grasping onto tiny threads of lost memories, she recalled the Back-to-School Party. She remembered walking through the forest in the middle of the night, and the trees and the moonlit sky. She remembered the blinding lights and the deafening sound of music with heart-stopping beat drops and being in the middle of a mass of people that made her a little more claustrophobic than usual. She remembered Celeste, Meredith, and Damien… the last face she saw before everything went dark and the memory abruptly stopped.

Damien Blackwell. The charming face she could never get rid of from her mind, no matter how much she wanted and _needed_ to. With his captivating dark eyes and the mysterious smirk, she just couldn't figure out what was in his mind throughout all of that. She understood clearly that men's minds worked a lot differently than women's—she experienced that firsthand, too—but his actions reflected that of a masochist's, and his excuses only made it more difficult for her to make any sense of it.

A thousand questions ran through her mind as she recalled back to their conversation right before Meredith's reign of terror began. There was something more to that couple, other than the fact that they seemed to be two different people all together and making her wonder why they were going out in the first place. Judging by his choice of words and the look on his face when he spoke of her, he seemed to be completely aware of Meredith's irrational response after seeing them just chatting with each other. He was even aware that his girlfriend didn't really have any romantic feelings towards him, and yet they were still together.

And what did he mean by him not having 'a choice?' Alexa shook her head at the thought that appeared in her mind; it couldn't be that he was _threatened_ by Meredith to be her boyfriend, right? Those things, Alexa was sure of, only happened in televised, dramatic soap operas or maybe, someday, on an episode of _Keeping Up With The Kardashians_. He didn't seem to be the type of person who would let a woman get her way with him unless she had a really good leverage to blackmail him with or something, and she doubted that his reputation in school meant anything much to him, either.

She shook her head again and sighed. Just a day into her new high school and drama was already brewing. If this kept up for the rest of the year, she'd rather transfer back into her old school back in Prior Lake. At least the quiet, disciplined folk there made her life a lot less complicated than it was now.

Rubbing the blurriness out of her eyes, she was startled awake again when a loud buzzing came from right beside her bed—she didn't even remember getting into bed, but her body felt too drained of energy to even complain. Snapping her head to the source of the buzzing, she snatched her phone from the wooden bedside table and turned it on. The screen lit up; it was a text, and much to her surprise, _his_ name popped up in the screen as well, right above the notification.

She didn't remember asking for his number, so how the hell did he get into her contact list?

 **From: Damien Blackwell**

 **You have questions, I have answers. School courtyard 7. See you there.**

Alexa frowned. She was _not_ in the right mood to see him again today; she didn't even want to get out of bed with this terrible migraine crushing her brain inside out. Seeing the time at the corner of the screen, she knew that her mother would come barreling into her room soon and force her out of bed, regardless of her current state. In fact, if Vivienne saw her like this, Alexa knew that she was going to be grounded for the rest of her teenage life.

Throwing the covers off her, she brought her limp legs off the bed and allowed her feet to touch smooth, solid ground again—still a little bit dusty, but solid as a rock. Cleaning the room for the third time since yesterday was the last thing on her mind, however—there were too many things to do in such short amount of time. Regardless, it felt like a bucket full of cold water was thrown straight to her face and gave her a wake-up call, all the while providing her the balance she needed after the hectic night she just had. Glancing around, she took in the familiar surroundings of the old furniture in her new room.

Closest to the door was a ceiling-to-floor wooden wardrobe, one of the few pieces of furniture she brought with her to this new home, and inside was still pretty much empty whereas most of her clothes were still in the bags and suitcases she had yet to unpack. Next to the wardrobe was the desk, also made of wood and also equally as empty. Her mother seemed to have taken the liberty to at least fill the top of the desk with stuff that made it look like how it was before they moved, with a desk lamp at the corner, a magnetic board hung right above the desk on the wall, a cup filled with stationery and her laptop, sitting idly on top of the portable cooling fan, waiting to be used once again.

Beside the desk was her bookshelf, already occupied by several of her favorite novels and even a few figurines she collected from all sorts of geeky conventions she had attended. Right across from it was the queen-sized bed, fitted with freshly cleaned linen and bed covers. In the far wall was the window, with the lace curtains drawn back as it overlooked the rest of the small hill their neighborhood was perched atop of, as well as granting a spectacular view of the forest from afar.

She couldn't wait until the week was over. She still had a lot of redecorating to do, some organizing and cleaning as well. Things that recent movers would typically have finished within the first week, perhaps even the first few days, but with school in her way, she had to wait until she really had free time to do all that and maybe relax for a little bit before the next week comes. Then it was hell all over again.

She didn't waste much time to shower and get dressed, knowing she would be late if she didn't hurry. There was still a full hour before school starts, but she demanded those answers he was offering to her, even though he was the last person she wanted to meet. She dressed in more casual clothes today—'casual' being a t-shirt, jeans, and hoodie, giving her the appearance of a homeless person except for the lack of dirt smudged across her face and messy hair. After fixing her outfit and became sure she was ready to go, she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.

Her mother apparently had to leave early today, so the only breakfast provided was a few warm bagels served on a plate. Alexa grabbed one, glanced over to where her mother was fixing her purse and putting on a dark brown coat. Vivienne grabbed one of the bagels and did not speak a single word to her daughter, simply motioning for her to head outside to the car with its engine already warming up.

They stayed silent throughout the entire car journey, accompanied only by the sound of the radio. Once they neared the school building, the car slowed down to a stop and Alexa exited the car, but not before giving her mother a kiss on the cheek and a wave goodbye.

Even from the school gates, Alexa could see him standing underneath a tree, with his backpack hanging onto his shoulder by one strap, wearing an outfit identical to the one he wore the day before—grey shirt, dark trousers, the same leather jacket and boots. He was on his phone as she made her way to him, but soon looked up and noticed her presence, immediately locking eyes with her and putting the phone down.

She stopped and stood in front of him with her arms crossed, watching as his eyes studied her for a solid minute.

"Why do I have a suspicion," he began, "that you're not really what you say you are?"

She raised an eyebrow, almost laughing at his words. "I should ask you the same thing. You saw t-that… _thing_ last night, didn't you?"

He paused, then, at a second too late, he frowned and shook his head. "Alexa, I have no idea what you're talking about right now.

"Don't lie to me!" she exclaimed, anger boiling up inside her. "I know you saw it. I saw the look on your face and you _knew_ what it was, so tell me: what in the world was that thing?"

He seemed perplexed, unsure of what to say to her. She didn't let herself fall vulnerable to his stare, however, as much as her knees being seconds away from turning into jelly. His figure towered over her with ease, and for a second she thought about backing away and retreat inside the school building, but decided otherwise when his gaze softened and became more troubled than he already was.

"If I can tell you, I would," he said, keeping his jaw set. "You don't want to know what it is, Alexa, and for your own safety, I think you should just stay away from it, whatever it is. The same reason why you have to stay away from _me_ , too."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

He sighed and looked away. "Look, it's not safe for... for people like _you_ around here, all right? Especially when you're not even sure of what you are, or what you can do. All we both know is that you have the Sight, and that's enough to put you in more danger than any other mundane should be."

Alexa felt like some sort of seizure had just surged through her as she shook her head, trying to comprehend what in the world he'd just said.

"Whoa, whoa—what the hell is 'the Sight'? And who are you calling 'mundane'?"

"Nothing—it doesn't matter anymore, all right? Just… if you can't stay away from me, then _I'll_ stay away from you. Not that I don't want to be friends with you—I'd _love_ to be friends with you, in fact—but this…" He took a step back. "This is for your own safety, Alexa. Just stay away from those creatures you see, stay away from me and stay away from Meredith if you don't want to get hurt." He paused. "And keep an eye on that redhead friend of yours, too. She's not telling everything about herself, either."

"Damien, what are you talking about?"

But before she could call him back, he was already backing away towards the school building, guilt written all over his face, making Alexa even more confused about his actions. Giving her an apologetic look, he parted his lips a couple of times before speaking again.

"I'm sorry, Alexa," he said. "I want to help you—I really do, but after all that's happened, I can't help you. Not right now."

Dumbfounded, Alexa stood frozen still as she watched Damien give her one last glance over his shoulder and disappearing behind the doors, but not before she noticed the look of pity written on his face. Her stare was only broken when she felt something bump against her shoulder, almost knocking her over. When she recovered, she saw that other students have arrived at school for their second day, but have all ignored her presence and went about their business. Just as she decided to run after him, she was tackled once again, and this time, as she turned around, she saw Celeste clinging onto her shoulders with a grin on her face, which quickly faded away as soon as she noticed the frown Alexa had.

"Hello again, and I can see that you are upset about something," she said, removing her hands and replaced them by her side. "Whatever is the matter, may I ask?"

Alexa couldn't help but recall to what Damien had just said to her less than a minute ago.

" _And keep an eye on that redhead friend of yours, too. She's not telling everything about herself, either."_

Keeping his words in mind, Alexa found herself confused on who to trust now, seeing that the town she now called as her home was not how it seemed to be. She had to figure it out, though—with all the weird things happening and the strange creatures she's seeing, her curiosity wouldn't rest until she figured out what's wrong with this town, but with nobody she could trust other than herself and her mother, she had to do it herself.

Until then, she really needed to keep her friends close, but her enemies closer.

"Oh, nothing," she lied, brushing off whatever had just happened with a heavy sigh. "Just… a little tired. Let's just head to class, okay?"

Celeste, a little unconvinced, shrugged and hooked her arm around her new friend and started heading towards the building.

"Oh, by the way, where did you disappear off to last night? I came back to where I last left you and you have disappeared. If you will not tell me what happened just now, then will you at least tell me what happened last night?"

"To be honest, I don't know what happened last night." She had hoped Damien would've at least provided some answers for those questions still in her head before he disappeared, knowing that he was the last person she remembered seeing before the memories stopped playing like a broken tape. "But I'm safe and alive, aren't I?"

"True that."

Leaving the subject alone, Alexa followed Celeste inside, parting ways only when the bell rang and they all needed to move to their respective classes as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, keeping a safe distance from the raven-haired girl and her crimson-haired friend, Damien Blackwell stuffed his hands into his pockets and watched as they disappeared around the corner before emerging from the shadows, the corners of his mouth twitching as his thoughts wandered back to the mystery surrounding the two new visitors.

He knew what Celeste was, at least. He picked up the scent of pixie dust from a mile away but was admittedly surprised how she could maintain a generally human-like appearance despite her nature. Half-fey, he suspected. Still, he should keep an eye on her, not only because his sire told him to do so, but because he was curious as to what someone like her would have to do with anything inside this damned high school campus.

But the other one—Alexandra—he couldn't quite put a finger on her. Something about her intrigued him, piqued his interest. She appeared to be a mundane, but she had the Sight, and that was never a good thing around these parts. Perhaps she might have a diluted bloodline, and if he was lucky, she might never find out about her extended family's history with people like him, or people like what he was before.

He couldn't help but be reminded of his past self, because of that girl. He'd experienced the same thing—the same frightening glimpses into the Shadow World, being terrified of the people around him just because he could see past their glamour and at the monsters they really were on the inside. Creatures of all shapes and sizes, haunting him with nightmares for sleepless nights that followed. He was lost, until one fateful night changed his fate forever.

And here he was now. Standing in an empty hallway, drowning in his thoughts when he should be in class right now. He couldn't care less, though; that meant he had more time to search for that damn artifact, and the sooner he would find it, the sooner he could get the hell out of this place for good.

After making sure nobody else was in the hallways, he continued heading down towards the library, the next location to search for in his checklist. He was sure the librarian wouldn't mind; he was caught skipping class multiple times now, but the librarian promised to stay silent as long as he did, especially when he would be found skimming through the pages of some history book whenever the librarian did check on him. Little that the old man knew that the whole thing was just a ruse to get the suspicion off him. He couldn't imagine how people would react once they knew what he was, and what he was searching for.

He didn't even ask many questions when he was assigned this task in the first place. He probably should've, but even so, his sire wouldn't tell him anyway, and he would be forced to comply nevertheless. He didn't even know what she would do with such a precious yet mysterious artifact. I guess he would never know until it happened.

Even as he made his way to the library, he couldn't keep his mind off Alexandra. She was special, he decided. Even if he told her to stay away from him, and from the demons lurking in the shadows, he made a promise to himself to keep an extra eye out for her, just to make sure she wouldn't be an unnecessary casualty or collateral damage to whatever chaos that was about to come once he found this goddamn artifact.

He'd keep her safe. At least, until the inevitable truth would catch up with her, then there would be nothing he could do then. He could only hope she didn't end up the way he did.


	6. Harbinger

There was an increase in the number of stares Alexa received today.

She figured it would be the opposite, since returning students would always stare at freshmen and newcomers like they were aliens from another planet, but only on the first day. She figured the residents of Silvercrest were no different. Then again, after everything that happened in just two days of being here, she had established in her mind that Silvercrest was nothing but normal.

Damien was staring at her again. Despite what happened earlier that morning, she has caught him sneaking glances at her more than just once or twice, in class or in the hallways. He did keep his distance from her, though, but she could always feel his eyes drilling through her back, his stare following her wherever she went. There was no place at school where she could at least spot him within a twenty-feet radius. It was creepy, yet she didn't find it strange that he was stalking her. Rather, it felt like he was _watching_ her. Looking out for her, even though he insisted they shouldn't even be in the same room as each other.

Maybe it was just a coincidence. Or maybe he'd lied to her.

When she didn't mind, Celeste stared back at him. It was like they were exchanging glares, and when she turned back to Celeste, the latter pretended as if everything was okay. Then she turned to Damien just as he looked away, and similar to the red-haired girl, he pretended as if he was too pre-occupied with his own business, not paying attention to either of the girls.

"Are you okay, Celeste?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Celeste smiled, but she could tell it was forced. "Just peachy."

Then there was another person who was bothering her, though indirectly. A girl, about the same age as they were since she often saw this girl in her classes. With a black blazer, purple blouse and scarf and black trousers, she looked like she ran a fashion business right here in the school. Otherwise, she would be a supermodel in the making—long dark brown hair flowing down her back, dark eyes that held just as much mystery as anyone else here, the perfect figure that every other girl would die for and every other boy, or man, would lust for. She earned a few envious glares from the female students and more than enough sideways glances from guys who were checking her out, even a couple from the teachers. Unlike Meredith, however, this girl radiated generosity and friendliness from her bright, red-lipped smile, greeting every single person she recognized.

But when she passed Alexa, the former gave her a knowing smile. A cold shiver ran down her spine; the girl might not seem as hostile as Meredith, but that didn't mean she was any less weird as the rest of them.

And then she saw it. A hint of purple, flashing across the brown orbs. It was an unusual shade of purple, like violet, and definitely unusual for an eye color. It disappeared as soon as it came, just like everything else she took notice of here.

She gasped, but was unable to do anything as she merely watched the girl walk away and approach someone off in the distance. When she squinted and took a closer look, she realized it was _him_ again—Damien, and he turned his head right in her direction. She turned away so fast her neck nearly broke, and blood rushed up to her face, turning her into a bright red tomato.

The girl was an acquaintance of his, she realized. Sneaking a few quick glances, she saw the two of them in a hushed conversation with grave looks on their faces, constantly glancing around them as though they were inflicted with paranoia of someone overhearing them.

Within moments, the rest of the students dispersed into their respective classes, but Alexa continued to linger, pretending to organize her locker while paying silent attention to the two friends in the corner. Their hushed conversation turned bitter and their voices became louder. Unable to resist the temptation, Alexa listened in to what they were saying.

"I'm not going to be another meat puppet like you are," the girl said, with a faint foreign accent. British or somewhere European perhaps—Alexa wondered. "I've helped you thus far, _mon frère_ , but I will not help that… that _witch_ for another second."

"Then help me," he said, his voice turning desperate. "This is not for her. She doesn't know. She… she'll try to hurt her." There was a short pause. "Please, Morgan. She has an Inner Eye. She can see us, for what we truly are. And you know how the Nephilim are these days, after what happened in the Dark War. They'll find her. They'll turn her into… one of _them_."

"So? Weren't you one yourself before you started following that witch like a lost puppy?"

There was another pause, but longer than the last. Even from fifty feet away, Alexa could sense the increase in tension between the two of them.

"Oh God. I-I'm sorry, Damien, I—"

"No, it's okay." His voice became quieter, with a hint of sadness. "I just… My family. They were different. But the Nephilim these days… They're recruiting more soldiers, Morgan. They're even opening the Academy again, taking more mundanes and have them Ascend. Imagine how they'll be to find fresh blood right here, in Silvercrest."

"The Nephilim here are already on high alert," the girl added. "Remember those murders a couple weeks ago? They think it's one of us. One of _you_ , specifically. After all, I'm not the murderous one here."

 _Murder?_ Alexa thought frantically. _There are murders happening in this freak town?_

"Which is why I need your help, Morgan. What if she's the next target? I've heard one of the victims have had dealings with Downworlders before, but they're mundane. What if they're taking out anybody who has connections to the Shadow World? She's right in harm's way, then."

Another pause. "You like her, don't you?"

"What?" There was disbelief in his voice, and shock.

"You've grown fond with her. That's why you're asking me to do this. Honestly, I prefer her rather than that witch you're dating right now."

"Well, technically, you're the witch."

"You get my point. And it's okay, you know. If she does turn out to become one of them, the Law has changed. Remember Magnus Bane, the other warlock I told you about? He is dating a Lightwood. A _Lightwood_. They adopted a _child._ "

"So?"

"Fine. Just forget about it. I'll keep an eye on her, if that's what you want. But why can't you just tell her about it in the first place? It is still her choice, if she wants to become one of them. There is still a chance she may want to continue living as a mundane, and I can just remove her memories of it after. Maybe block her Inner Eye for a bit, too."

"I'm not risking it," he said with finality. "Look, I gotta go, okay? Meredith's waiting for me. We still have a job to do here."

"Ah, yes, the witch," the girl sneered. "I pity you, _mon frère._ Werewolves are still better than vampires, all except you."

"I beg to differ."

When Alexa turned to them again, the two had parted ways into separate hallways, leaving Alexa alone to ponder about what they said. She must be delusional at this point. Warlocks? Vampires and werewolves? And what in the world are _Nephilim_? They said those strange terms, words that you wouldn't hear anybody say on a daily basis, like they were _normal_ to them. Like something like this happened every day.

She was late to class now. She tried not to think about that strange conversation, but it tugged the strings in her head and it piqued her curiosity. What on earth were they talking about? And they mentioned something about a 'her' multiple times. They could not have meant _her_ , right?

She recalled him saying something about a 'Sight,' which apparently she possessed, and she heard them talking about an 'Inner Eye.' She couldn't help but wonder if the two terms were the same thing.

* * *

She encountered the girl again later during the day, after dismissal.

She was heading down the concrete path out the school, fussing about her mother's text message about how the latter was going to take a late shift. That meant she had to walk back home alone. It was either that or the bus, and she'd spent all of her day's allowance on lunch because her mother had left early, too, and didn't prepare any lunch beforehand.

Just before leaving school premises, she felt a tap on her back and turned around to meet brown eyes and a red-lipped smile.

"Hello there," the girl said. The same girl who was talking with Damien earlier. The same, strange girl with the purple eyes. "Alexandra, right?"

Alexa slowly nodded. She was still debating on whether to trust this lunatic or not. She didn't act like a lunatic, but the words she spoke with him earlier were.

The girl smiled. It sent more shivers down her spine. "Allow me to introduce myself. The name is Morgan. Morgan Faye."

Alexa stared at the outstretched hand in front of her and reluctantly shook it. Fond of the Arthurian legends ever since she was introduced to it during her Literature class back at junior high school, she couldn't resist comparing the girl to Morgan le Fay, the sorceress. The similar name, the alluring appearance that matched descriptions of the fictional character herself…

Perhaps she was going mad, just as mad as this girl was. Comparing people she meets in real life with those from storybooks, it was not something that a normal person would do right away.

"Damien told me about you," Morgan then said, and smiled. "Come, let us sit. We have much to talk about."

She motioned towards a bench not too far from the gate, leaning against some bushes. The girl moved first, but Alexa showed some hesitance before following her. Her curiosity was too overwhelming to be ignored, and she'd equipped pepper spray on the side of her backpack, so she figured it was safe enough to follow her. "Can you specify what you need to talk to me about?"

After the two were comfortable, Morgan's smile widened. "Damien has mentioned some particularly interesting things about you. How you are… peculiar, and special, compared to the rest of these ignorants here." She nodded towards the courtyard, at the rest of the student body, and scoffed. "But you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Alexa shook her head. "Why do people keep telling me these things? What makes me different than the rest of them—the rest of you?"

"Oh, believe me, my friend, you are quite different." Her smile turned to a grin. "All of us are. But there are some things that makes us more peculiar than others. Your Sight, for example."

"Damien once mentioned that to me, too." She paused and recalled his words, and their words earlier that day. "Is it why I'm… Is it why I can see things? Those creatures—they were real, weren't they?"

There was no answer. Instead, Morgan nodded at something ahead of them, and when Alexa squinted to see what she was looking at, she realized it was another one of the monstrous creatures she'd meant. This one looked like it was made entirely out of black slime, leaving a trail of the dark liquid it secreted behind it. It disappeared behind a tree and did not reappear again.

"Those nasty things, you mean?"

Alexa nodded. Nausea bubbled in her stomach. "Who are they? _What_ are they?"

What Morgan said next was not something that she expected.

"Demons."

Demons. She knew such things existed—she wasn't religious, but was enrolled in a Christian school once, and even suspected a few of her more deranged family members were possessed by demons once—but she didn't think they were real, much less the fact that she could _see_ them. She never even imagined what forms they would take, should they be corporeal. She never even knew there were so many various forms they could take in the first place.

"You don't seem too bothered by it."

Alexa looked back at the girl sitting beside her. "I'm just… trying to swallow it. It still doesn't explain why I can see them in the first place, though."

"There are… a select group of individuals, who have abilities such as yours. A large group of them, in fact, but their numbers are rather small compared to the human population itself. One in a… couple thousand, perhaps." She turned to Alexa. She was reminded of that word they mentioned earlier, a word she didn't recognize. _Nephilim_. "Regardless, that does not mean that you are not _special_ , on your own. I believe every person is special in their own right."

"Anyway, yes. There are other people like you, who can see them. People who hunt them down, protecting humanity from the evils of the world. But if you wish to seek them out," Morgan continued, "then seek them out on your own accord. I do not recommend it, for there is a reason why Damien also advised against it." She paused, then stared at Alexa with a glimmer of violet shining in her eyes. "I'm telling you this because _he_ refused to tell you, and even though I do not want you to dive straight into this whole demon business, I want you to at least be aware of what you're dealing with. The damned fool can sometimes be insensitive to others, but he means well."

"I highly doubt it," the other girl scoffed. The boy had never justified his strange actions, and she doubted any of them were truly for her well-being.

"He does. In fact, he's grown fond of you, Alexa. He tells you to keep away from him, and from that ' _friend_ ' of yours because he wants to keep you safe."

"What about you?" Morgan grew silent. "Will he tell me to stay away from you, too?"

"Alexa, I'm here because he asks me to," she replied. So they were talking about her. "I'm here because he wants me to keep you safe because he can't do it himself, because he thinks he poses danger to you, too. If you know what he is, what he's like… You'd understand." She paused for a moment, then spoke again. "And demons aren't the only things that'll be out for your throat, if they know you have the Sight. There are other creatures—less monstrous than they are, but dangerous nonetheless."

 _How do you know all these things?_ Alexa wanted to ask, but stopped herself before she did. Somehow, she knew that asking her might not end well.

"I'm sure you must've heard of vampires? Werewolves? Witches?" Morgan asked, and Alexa nodded, hesitantly. The same terms were included in her conversation with Damien, the one Alexa eavesdropped on earlier. "Well, every single one of them—they're all real. Legends, fairytales… All the stories are true. And Alexa, that Sight… it makes you part of them."

"You're crazy," Alexa said, nearly laughing until she saw the grave expression on Morgan's face and realized that the girl wasn't kidding. "They can't be true. How can they exist? Demons, sure—I can see them, and I can see the evidence—but vampires and werewolves and witches? You're batshit crazy."

"And so I've been told." Morgan laughed. "Believe it or not, they're real. You're staring at one of them right now."

Alexa's eyes widened in disbelief. Gasping, she inched away from the girl with caution, and Morgan laughed softly again.

"But don't worry," she said with a dismissive wave. "I may be a warlock, but I'm not going to summon demons in front of you or anything. I haven't tried doing that in a while now, in fact."

"What?" Alexa shook her head. She deemed herself officially crazy now. The girl beside her was no different.

"You do not believe me?" Before Alexa could say anything, the girl leaned towards her and snapped her fingers. In front of Alexa's own eyes, a violet flame appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, resting right on top of Morgan's open palm. "Believe me now?"

Alexa was still skeptical, and Morgan could sense it from her. But when Alexa turned back to her, she saw that the eyes of the girl sitting beside her had turned completely into purple, the same shade they turned into when she first saw Morgan earlier, in the hallways. The same shade as the flame on her palm, and the sparks that appeared from it.

Before anyone else could see the flame, Morgan curled her fingers back into her palm and the flame disappeared. Her smile turned mischievous, but kind.

"What about Damien?" Alexa asked nervously. She didn't want to ask, because she was afraid he might be something worse than a warlock like Morgan. What if he was one of those demons? He sure as hell acted like them. "What is he?"

"I am not in a position to tell you that," said Morgan. "He might get angry at me. In other words, he hates what he is now, and he hates when other people refer to him as what he is. But contrary to what you may have thought about people like him, and what you may have thought about _him_ in general, he… is a nice person. And he wants what's best for the people he cares about. And one of them happens to be you, now. And do not ask me why, because I do not _know_ why. He does what he does, and usually, he does it for a good reason."

Morgan stood up, clutching her leather handbag with her, and turned back to Alexa with a sigh. "So please. Don't make me regret telling you all of that. And for both of our sakes, please stay away from any demons you may see. And your friend… She keeps secrets with her. People like us no longer trust people like her, and that is also for a good reason. Just don't trust her too much, will you?"

Alexa sighed. "So who am I supposed to trust now?"

Morgan smiled. "Nobody. But trust who you think is trustworthy, and you may find yourself walking out of here alive, Alexandra."


	7. Ingenue

**A/N: I know, the chapters are somewhat getting shorter, but I'm just trying to get this all out of my head right now because I've been wanting to have this fanfiction just done and finished for a long time. I've planned the story up to the third book already. And, well, everything's just going way too slow. So yeah. This chapter happened.**

 **Thanks for reading, and enjoy!**

* * *

Despite what he said right to her face, Damien Blackwell sat at her lunch table today.

Alexa frowned the moment he started heading his way towards her. Celeste raised an eyebrow and cast a sideways glance at her, as if demanding answers to the questions she bore in her mind. The problem for her was that she couldn't even answer her own questions of what in the world was he doing there.

"Ladies," he said, courteously, as always. He sat down and placed his tray on the table. Celeste looked like she was about to blow up any minute now.

"What are you doing here, Blackwell?" The vermillion-haired, petite girl glared at him. "You will only get us in even more trouble with that girlfriend of yours. Don't you think Alexa has had enough?"

Alexa seemed surprised that her friend was defending her so fiercely. She didn't tell her about the conversation she had with Morgan, apparently a warlock, the day before, nor did she say anything about the conversation she overheard between the brunette and the young man sitting opposite to her. She was still hesitant on whether she could trust her new friend or not, but as of the moment, Celeste was the only friend she truly had.

"What? Oh, are you talking about the party the other night?" he said, pushing his tray away after glancing at the burger on the plate with disgust. Alexa wasn't surprised, since left hers on the tray, too. The little label in front of the chafing dish described the meal to be containing some sort of 'mystery meat,' and Alexa knew from experience to _never_ trust any food with the word 'mystery' behind it

"That, and something else," Celeste retorted, crossing her arms. "You know what I mean, don't you, Blackwell?"

Damien narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, then turned to Alexa, ignoring her. "Morgan spoke with you yesterday, didn't she?"

Alexa nodded. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but somehow she felt compelled to tell him the truth. It didn't seem as though there was any harm in doing it, either.

He sighed. "She didn't tell you anything specific about… any magical creatures, did she? Folklore or legends and all that stuff?"

She didn't reply, but bit her lip and looked away.

"She did, didn't she?" He sighed again. "I'm going to kill her."

"Please don't." Her voice came out smaller than expected. She wasn't aware that it was the fear creeping up her back that made her this way. "I really appreciate… what she told me. At least she wasn't keeping things away from me—things that could explain why the hell I'm seeing all these strange things and why you guys have been acting strange around me. You talk about me as if I'm not here. That's not okay, even for a 'mundane'—" she added air-quotes around the word, scrunching her face, "—like me."

"You're not mundane," he said, and his gaze softened. "Figuratively and literally."

"Wait, she knows?" Alexa turned sharply to her right and saw Celeste staring at Damien with wide eyes. Wide, wary eyes filled with caution.

"See what I mean?" Alexa stood up abruptly from her seat, anger boiling in the pit of my stomach. "Celeste, please don't tell me you're in this whole thing, too."

"I…" The girl started stuttering, looking away with guilt clearly written all over her face. "Alexandra, I—"

Damien rolled his eyes. "Morgan told you everything. Is that correct?"

"Not everything. She said you were trying to avoid me for a reason." She stopped herself before mentioning the part of not trusting Celeste. She didn't want to lose her friend—her only friend here. "A freaking purple flame appeared on her palm. She told me I could see demons. Please tell me I haven't gone insane."

"You're not insane," added Celeste, her voice mirroring Alexa's. "Because we can see them, too."

His jaw flexed. "Well, I'm still going to kill her—not literally, though, so don't be alarmed. When I asked her to keep an eye on you, I didn't mean to approach you and tell you pretty much everything about the Shadow World."

"What's the harm in that, anyway?" Alexa crossed her arms and sat back down, almost hurting her backside in the process. "It's never good to keep secrets away from people, you know, because they'll always find out, one way or the other."

"Or have those secrets bluntly told to you." He paused, glanced around to make sure nobody else was listening. Strangely enough, Meredith was nowhere in sight. Alexa breathed a silent sigh of relief. "The harm is that is because if anyone else knows that you know about the Shadow World, they're going to go after you and you're going to die."

"She can always join the Nephilim, yes?" Celeste questioned with a wondering thought. "I mean, that's where she's supposed to be."

Damien glared at her like she was insane. "In other words, it's just another way to die." He turned back to Alexa with a grave shadow casting over his face. "And I mean it when I say you should stay away from all of this. You're still innocent, and for your own sake, you better keep that innocence."

"But you also said you were going to stay away from me." She gestured at his entire being, sitting right in front of her. "And yet, here you are now."

"That's only because Morgan already told you about everything, so there's no point in staying away from you now." He ran a hand through his midnight hair, looking away for a moment as if thinking something over. "Alexa, have you heard about any news about… murders lately? Particularly taking place around here, in Silvercrest?"

Alexa shook her head. She knew he mentioned it to Morgan yesterday, but she didn't want to reveal the part where she was eavesdropping on them.

"Another one happened last night," he said with a hushed voice, so only she and Celeste could hear. "The only reason why the entire town isn't in panic right now is because the local Shadowhunters in the area have beaten the cops to the scene and are currently dealing with it. The only reason why I know about it is _not_ because I'm the person responsible for it, understood?"

The two girls nodded, too intent on the story to disagree.

"You can ask the shopkeeper of the bookstore near 67th Street if you don't believe me. Anyway, this isn't the first time something like this happened. The last murder happened a couple of weeks ago, and the first one had been the week before that. These things don't usually happen because the vampires and werewolves here—I can say this freely now, assuming Morgan also told you about other creatures other than her kind—are all civilized and do not even _dare_ to harm a single person here. They've all been very careful. In fact, they're all afraid that they're going to be next."

Celeste swallowed hard and let out a little squeak. When Alexa took a quick glimpse at her side, she realized the petite girl was trembling in fear.

"The reason why I'm telling you this— _both_ of you this—is because you guys may get in the crosshairs. Well, the redhead is less likely." Celeste squeaked again. "But Alexa… if you keep staring at demons the way you do, one of them is going to notice that you can see them and they might go after you. Or, even worse, they'll report back to whoever summoned them because the number of them prowling in the streets right now indicate that they're not just tourists taking a vacation here."

"So basically, they're all after me just because I have this 'Sight' or whatever you call it?"

"It's not just about the Sight," he said. "All of us technically have it—all of us meaning you, the redhead here, me and Morgan and probably a few more around here. It's the part that you're most likely one of the Nephilim is what's going to get you killed."

"Okay. What's a Nephilim then?"

"Shadowhunters." Alexa turned to Celeste, who spoke up before Damien could. "People with angel blood running in their veins. People with runes Marked on their skin like delicate tattoos, granting them spectacular abilities that others can only dream of. People who kill demons for a living. Unfortunately, sometimes, they're people who can kill _us_ , too."

"'Us' meaning Downworlders," added Damien after he gave Celeste a look. "Vampires, werewolves, warlocks and faeries. It's a social prejudice thing—yeah, I know right? Even in the world of weird supernatural creatures, we still have discrimination in our social system. We're no different than the mundanes, but that's something Shadowhunters refuse to accept. That's why I've been keeping you away from them; it's because I don't want you to turn into one of them, thinking that we're lesser beings, that we don't have any souls. That we're not people all the same."

Alexa studied Damien's face as soon as he went quiet. He'd looked away from her, but his features had gone soft. He didn't look like the arrogant asshole she first met two days ago. He looked upset, like a child after being told to go to bed even when he wanted to play more video games. Was he upset because he was afraid she might turn on him? On Celeste? On all those ' _Downworlders_ ,' as he phrased them? Was he afraid of losing her to something else? Would he be afraid of losing her entirely?

She thought about Morgan's words, about how she said that he'd 'grown fond' of her. Was this what she meant? Was he trying to protect her from all of this because he actually cared for her?

"Well, for what it's worth," she then said, and he looked back up with some hope in his eyes, "I don't think you guys are all that bad. You're still my friends. And if becoming one of these _Nephilim_ or Shadowhunters means I can't be friends with you guys, then I don't want to be one."

Damien chuckled. It wasn't a taunting one, or a cocky one. He sounded weak. Like he was refusing to believe that what she said was true.

"A lot of mundanes—not even people like you, people with Nephilim blood who somehow got lost somewhere along the line—would want to give up all they have to get a chance like this." He shook his head. "People think that becoming one of the Nephilim is like becoming a hero. A lot of them _are_ heroes, actually. People who made it into the page of their history book. People who fought in the big wars, protecting humankind and everything." He paused. "Isn't that what everybody wants? To be a hero, at least to someone?"

Alexa almost laughed. It was strange, how she's only met these people a couple of days ago, and yet, she'd grown closer to them than she had with any of her old friends—well, for one, her old friends weren't any strange supernatural creatures. In her opinion, it made them so much more… _interesting_. Like they could talk about something else other than celebrities or gossip about students at school. Instead, they could talk about demons and magic, vampires and werewolves, all sorts of things that would earn them suspicious glares from everybody else if they'd said them out loud.

Part of her was still thinking this was all a dream, though. A really, really bad dream. But that same part of her didn't want to wake up.

"Why be a hero when I can be a friend?" Alexa said, shrugging. She stared at the burger. She was hungry, but she was still not risking it. "Have you seen Batman? Does he look like he has any friends?"

Damien tilted his head from side to side and smiled. "Batman isn't a hero. He's just a depressed emo kid running around in tight spandex and a fucking cape he's going to trip over someday." He glanced down at the watch on his wrist then stood up. "Sorry. I have to go. Don't worry about me, though. We're going to continue this debate about the standard of 'heroes' another day."

She liked the sound of it. 'Another day.' That meant he was going to see her again. That meant they were cool—right?

"And about the whole supernatural, Shadowhunter thing?" she quickly added, before he left them.

His smile widened. "That, too. And don't forget—stay away from demons. They don't like it when you stare at them. Oh, and if you see, like, a pixie or an oversized wolf running around somewhere, don't stare at them, too, okay? We're all still people. We all still get uncomfortable when other people stare at us."

Damien only glanced over his shoulder once, at them, before he headed out the cafeteria and disappeared from their sight. After they were sure he'd left, Alexa felt somebody tapping on her shoulder and saw Celeste staring at her with an intense look in her eyes.

"Did you really mean it?" she asked, somewhat hesitant, somewhat in disbelief. "About what you said, about becoming a Shadowhunter. You do not want to be one?"

Alexa shrugged again. "What's so great about them? So they get to kill demons. They get to be heroes. But if they're constantly living under the belief that people like you—Downworlders—are 'lesser beings' like it's the 18th Century or something, then I don't want to be a hero. I'd rather be myself, away from prejudice, so I can still be friends with you guys."

"Well, not all of them are as bad as Damien described them as," added Celeste with a softer voice. "Some of those heroes got to where they were _because_ of Downworlders. Some of us helped them. Some of us got to be heroes, too." She paused and grew quiet. "Others… Others got into the wrong side of things. Sided with the wrong people. Others are treated as the public enemy, if any of them know they're still out there, in the streets, among the mundanes. Even when they've done nothing wrong, what they are, their nature…" She sighed. "Prejudice is inevitable. The Nephilim Law; they have a saying, you know? ' _Sed lex, dura lex_ ' is what I believe they say. It means 'The Law is hard, but it is the Law.' They often use it as an excuse, so they can kill us. Many of them still don't believe that Downworlders can be good people. Many of them still think of us as 'lesser beings.'"

"Is there nobody trying to change that?" Alexa shook her head. "Nobody doing something about it? There _has_ to be something done about it, right? It's the 21st Century, for God's sake."

"There has been… some efforts." There was a frown on her face, and her eyebrows were furrowed. "There are representatives of… _most_ Downworlders having seats in the Council. You know, the government of the Nephilim. But those efforts are still not enough. Many close-minded Nephilim are against this, still. Many of them are still reluctant to trust us, even though we helped them, and aided them in their wars. The Law still has a long way before the status quo can be completely broken. Despite their relatively short lifespans, their mindsets are still quite… ancient, as I may say. But, well… it is getting there. Maybe, twenty years into the future, Nephilim can finally be legally married with Downworlders."

"Wow. So they really are not too different than humans—mundanes—huh?"

"No, not really. They like to believe that they are more superior than mundanes. They look down upon the very people they fight to protect. But they are still mundanes, nonetheless. They're still mortal. They can still be killed. And, most certainly, they can still be wrong."

"Well, they are wrong." Smiling, Alexa swung an arm around her friend's shoulder, almost catching Celeste by surprise but soon relaxed as she realized the friendly gesture. "Downworlders are great friends. I know two—no, three—in this school alone, and all of them seem great to me."

Celeste didn't look too sure about what Alexa had said. The latter only became more determined to banish the skepticism away.

"Please, release me. I'm still smaller than you. You still have angel blood in your veins. You can still crush me with a hug, you know that, right?"


	8. Incipient

Alexa had heard about the murders, and she didn't doubt that the one she heard about the following morning was somehow connected to the rest of them.

Police sirens were what woke her up this morning. In a fit of panic, she scrambled off her bed and went for the window, where she could see, surrounding the area a few houses down, all the police cars huddled up and parked, empty as the officers that came with them had gathered around what she was informed to be the dead body of their neighbor, Mrs. MacKenzie, who came by their house earlier this week bringing a self-baked cheesecake as a housewarming gift.

The last time she remembered seeing the lady was that she had a warm, welcoming smile that didn't seem too convincing, as if she was aware of everything happening in Silvercrest, most notably surrounding the Shadow World. She had rolls in her auburn hair and she came by in a bright yellow bathrobe that made Alexa cringe.

When she saw news about the incident later that morning, when she came down for breakfast, Mrs. MacKenzie was still in that bathrobe, now bloodstained, and her lifeless eyes were staring blankly at the skies above her.

Alexa couldn't get rid of that image even as she went to school, even when she walked past Damien and he almost looked like he was about to strike a conversation with her until he realized the rest of the school was in a somber mood, too. They were all informed of the murder. It was a small town, after all, and word traveled fast here. Very fast.

During History, when the teacher was doing another lecture about the civil wars and everyone else in the room was pretty much asleep, Damien, who was sitting beside her after he snatched the seat first, ahead of some other insignificant, pimple-faced student there, nudged her once.

It was gentle at first, but when she ignored him, he nudged her again. Harder this time.

He nudged her a third time. Getting annoyed of his mere presence there, she finally turned and acknowledged him.

"What?" she asked, harshly, but kept her voice low to avoid gaining any unwanted attention. "For the record, I never said Batman was a hero. He was an asshole of a playboy billionaire, really. At least Iron Man is a scientific genius."

"What? No." He glared at her. "You've heard of the murder, yes?"

"I'm pretty sure she was still alive less than twenty-four hours ago."

"I take that as a 'yes' then," he said, sighing. "According to what I've heard, that lady was a witch."

"A witch? Like a warlock?"

He shook his head. "No, _witch_. A mundane who can do some magic—actual magic, not like the whole 'abracadabra' crap stage magicians do nowadays. They may be protégés of existing warlocks, mundanes who were too curious for their own good or even adopted children of warlocks since they can't have any. Nevertheless, they too know of the Shadow World. And so do the other four past victims."

"Exactly how many victims are there again?"

"At least six," he said. "And I can assure you it's not a Downworlder who did this. Most likely not a reckless Nephilim, either, because they have no motive of killing innocent mundanes then switch to killing innocent Downworlders and half-mundanes. And the targets… I don't think they're random. I don't think it's a coincidence that the latest victims are all quite aware of the Shadow World."

"So, are you saying that I'm a potential target because I know about that, too?" she whispered, suddenly feeling afraid for herself. It was never a pleasant thought to know that there was a serial killer out there, lurking near the homes of innocent people, ready to strike them when they least expect it, and you might be their next target.

"Maybe," he said, frowning. He didn't seem too pleased about that idea either, which gave her a sense of comfort knowing that at least she could count on him to miss her if she was indeed killed. She wanted at least someone in this forsaken town to miss her when she was gone. It meant that she truly had a friend and made somewhat of an impression here. Made a scar on the earth they lived in.

"Does the local authority know nothing about these murders?" she queried again. "Like, have they made some sort of connection between the victims? A motive for the murderer, or any sort of evidence at all?"

"Well, the only bodies they did recover is the first mundane, a half-mundane and the witch that was found dead this morning, since they don't have jurisdiction over the Downworlders because they don't know about their existence in the first place. Those bodies were most likely recovered by the Shadowhunters here."

Her eyes went wide the moment she heard this. "Wait. So there _are_ Shadowhunters, here, in Silvercrest?"

"Yeah, three of them," he said, turning his gaze away and back at the board, mimicking the same bored expression on everybody's faces. "They're not the nice, open-minded ones, too. They still think that Downworlders shouldn't be treated too differently from demons. The local vampire clan and werewolf pack don't appreciate it. They hate them."

"Jeez, you guys don't get along well with them, do you?"

"Not really. Not always, at least. Not with these ones." He huffed out a breath and crossed his arms. "By the way, I've never actually asked you about this since yesterday, which probably makes me a bad person and a bad friend, I guess. But, how have you been, you know… accepting all of this? The fact that you're probably a Nephilim because Morgan would've known if you're some type of Downworlder—she has this weird ability thing that apparently no other warlocks have. Oh, and, of course, the fact that you can see demons in the first place."

"Still processing it," she admitted with some hesitance. "It's not easy to digest it all in just one day, you know. And out of curiosity, should I probably be saying it to my mom? I haven't, but I figured she might be somewhat aware of the fact that her daughter can see things like demons and warlocks and other stuff. Or at least be _made_ aware of it."

"Don't," he said firmly. "Well, something like this _has_ happened before but circumstances were different back then. I don't think that she knows about you this time, if she hasn't mentioned anything about it once. I'll have Morgan check your mother just to make sure, so don't be alarmed if you see her peeking around your windows when you get home."

She almost flinched hearing him say this, but she realized that she might have to get used to hearing strange sentences coming out from his mouth and Morgan's. She still had to get used to the fact that they're not human, too.

But looking at Damien for the hundredth time today, she was still trying to figure out exactly what _creature_ he was. He had been keeping it under wraps this whole time, and referred to other species of Downworlders as if he wasn't one of them when he must be—at least, she assumed he would be. He referred to himself as one of the Downworlders and his extensive knowledge of the Shadow World meant that he indeed wasn't an ordinary mundane. He talked of the Nephilim like outsiders, too.

Not to mention the fact that he didn't look like the stereotype of any of the Downworlders he has mentioned before. Vampires, as far as she has read in literary works and seen in movies, usually had pale skin and sharp fangs and would burn in the sunlight. Unless if he was the type of vampires from those cringeworthy _Twilight_ movies, she could cross 'vampire' out because his skin wasn't too deathly pale and might've been normal for people living up in the northern regions of the country.

In her mind, werewolves would have an abundance of body hair compared to others, and he didn't even have anything remotely near to a stubble on his chin. She knew that they would also turn during a full moon, which was about in two days' time, so unless if he would suddenly transform into a wolf-like creature right in front of her, she had to cross that out, too.

He might be a warlock. It would make sense because he was friends with a warlock, but then anybody could be friends with a warlock, right? Yet so far, he was yet to show any signs of being able to perform any magic tricks like Morgan did with the purple flame dancing on the palm of her hand. She might have to reconsider that, still.

She remembered the mention of something about faeries, too. She thought that Celeste might be a faerie; if she stared at the red-haired girl long enough, she would notice that the girl had pointed ears, which was a common description given to any fey-like creatures she'd seen in movies and such. Damien lacked pointy ears, and she couldn't imagine him being any type or any sort of faerie. She would laugh her head off if it were so.

"What are you thinking about?"

Alexa blinked her eyes to see him staring back at her and felt the blood rushing to her face. She tried to play it cool and pretended to have gazed into the distance, like she always did to avoid awkward confrontations, but she had a feeling that it didn't work with him. Not this time.

"Uh, nothing," she stammered, looking away and back at the notebook laid out on the table in front of her. "I'm just thinking about what's happening these days. It's barely a week in and I'm already caught in a mess I never intended to get caught in."

"It was going to happen anyway," he murmured in a rather sorrowful tone. It was as though he felt her pain and confusion in all of this, even when she thought it was impossible for someone to pity her. "It's a miracle you haven't been seeing them before. But even if you don't end up here, in Silvercrest, it's bound to happen, one way or another. Silvercrest isn't the only place littered with Shadowhunters and Downworlders and demons. They're everywhere. You just couldn't see them, not until now."

"Shadowhunters all over the world," she wondered out loud, almost laughing to herself. "Do they actually get to travel all over the world, banishing demons from the most exotic and picture-worthy places?"

He smirked at her childlike enthusiasm. "Why? Would that be a case compelling enough for you to join them?"

"Well, why are you asking? Would you miss me if I do?"

She wanted to slap her mouth over her hand as soon as those words flew out of her mouth. She had no idea where those words came from in the first place; her subconscious mind was betraying her more logical self, because she couldn't get out of her mind the fact that he wasn't as bad as he seemed to be and actually cared about her well-being, not wanting to tell her about the Shadow World in the first place. And the previous day when he appeared to be upset when they brought up the fact that she could've joined the Shadowhunters right now if she wanted to…

She was dreading his response, even more so when he gave her a surprised look that told her it might just be the worst impulsive decision she had ever made.

"Perhaps," he said, much to her surprise, teasing her with a coy smile. "You've certainly liven up things here in Silvercrest, and, as you've said so yourself, it hasn't even been a week since you've been here."

"I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing."

"Oh, trust me, it is a good thing," he chuckled. "Nothing ever happens here. Besides the occasional disputes between clans and packs, but that's just normal here." He paused for a brief moment, then added, "But if you do choose to join them, then don't forget about us, will you? Imagine it, if you will, as a social standing type of situation. Us Downworlders are the peasants, and the Nephilim the noblemen. Everybody wants to join them, and I have no doubt that you will, too, but keep us peasants in your memory, all right?"

She cocked an eyebrow at his choice of words. "That's… certainly a strange way of phrasing it."

He shrugged. "It is what it is. I told you; the Shadow World, as magical and strange as it is, is no different than the mundane world you grew up in. Discrimination exists, wars and battles to be fought and won. We just have demons and angels lurking around in the shadows like puppeteers, that's all."

"You know, I thought a couple of days ago, you told me to stay away from you and you will stay away from me."

"Oh, you were expecting me to act it out and keep to my word?" He chuckled lowly and shook his head. "I do keep to my word, but not this time. I thought you enjoyed our conversations—bickering, but conversations."

"I do, actually," she said, giggling softly. It had been a while since she had an honest and entertaining conversation, discussing strange topics nobody else could understand. She knew she was always the odd one out in her old group of friends, having a strange affiliation with the supernatural, mostly TV series and movies that her friends did not enjoy. They preferred romantic sitcoms and chick flicks.

Her old boyfriend was a stereotypical teenage guy, into sports and video games, and the most romantic date they ever had was at a Starbucks. He dragged her along to watch action films and sometimes even animated movies, where she had to hide her face in case another student from their school spotted them entering the cinema to watch a Disney movie.

She realized now that she did not miss them at all. She had new friends now—they weren't human, but they were friends—and she did not want to trade them for anybody else. She could finally feel as though she belonged. In their own little community, away from stereotypes and people who judged them quickly.

And she didn't want them to stop talking. She was glad that he wasn't avoiding her, and she didn't plan on avoiding him too much either. He might claim to be dangerous to her, to the people around her, but on the contrary, she felt _safe_ around him. Like the demons she saw could never harm her as long as he was around. Like his girlfriend's passive-aggressiveness was nothing but an empty threat.

She might enjoy this friendship, their conversations together, but she willed herself to suppress any thoughts of harboring feelings for him— _romantic_ feelings. Dating Rule Number One was to never steal someone else's boyfriend. And so it should be, and she offered him nothing but a friendly smile which he returned.

Even if she were to have feelings for him, he wouldn't like her back anyway. Why would he? She was nothing compared to Meredith, the stunning blonde queen of the school. Meredith was literally the perfect human being, if she was human at all. Her beauty was inhumane, that was for sure. She had looks that women envied and men lusted for. Of course, her physical appearance might have been traded with her personality, but she thought that Damien was lucky, nonetheless. He had the perfect girlfriend, so why would he even consider _her_?

"Hey, how about this," he added, nudging her again when she wandered off to her thoughts. "There's football practice today, but I'm not feeling up to it. Meredith will be busy judging for cheerleading tryouts this afternoon, too, so she wouldn't know a thing."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Damien, what are you suggesting?"

"Go out with me," he said. "You know, just hang out. As friends. We can do some homework, if you want to. I can help you with that. What do you say? Just for a cup of coffee or two."

He looked at her expectantly, and she was hesitant on giving him a sure answer. It was quite the risk to take; despite his reassurances, she did not feel convinced at all that Meredith wouldn't be straight by her throat when she found out about them, if Alexa agreed to this.

"Unless you have anything else in mind to do today." She turned back to him at his voice, giving him a questioning look. "And besides, after what happened this morning, are you sure you still want to linger around those parts?"

"Fine," she said with finality, turning back her attention to the board. Her voice held some agitation, but deep down inside she was starting to look forward to that meeting. _A cup of coffee won't hurt anyone_ , she thought and moved to take down notes of the scribbles on the board. She might be seeing demons and she might be talking to strange inhumane creatures, but she still had school to worry about, and a handful of subjects to score well at so she would pass the grade.

Then a strange thought came into mind as the realization dawned on her. Why were they here in the first place? Him, Morgan and Celeste… they were Downworlders, and she was quite sure that people like them didn't need education as badly as she did, or at least the official papers and certifications that came from it. So why were they there in the first place anyway?

She shook the thought away and averted her attention back to the present. It was a question for a later day. Besides, she didn't want to be nosy. Whatever their motives were, they weren't to harm her in any way. In fact, they were warning her—well, at least, Damien and Celeste were, whereas Morgan didn't seem to find the harm done in telling her about the Shadow World, but even the warlock was on Damien's side.

Whatever their motives were, she might not have anything to do with it at all. She might just be another nuisance, another hiccup in their plans, without her even realizing it.

She shook that thought away as well. What was with all the negative thoughts, she wondered. She had more things to worry about. Like school, for example. And the meeting with Damien, later in the afternoon. He had a girlfriend, but she was still a girl and she still needed to look decent in public.

Besides. With all the strange things happening in her life so far, a little normalcy was greatly appreciated. _Who knows what might happen next._


	9. Dalliance

**D: Coffee House, 20 mins. I'll be late. See you there ;)**

Alexa sighed and stashed her phone back to her pocket as she continued walking down the steps to the courtyard. She could still hear the echo of the school bell ringing behind her, and she was just about to look for him in the now-crowded courtyard so they could go together, but it was apparent that she needed a change of plans now.

At least he hadn't cancelled it. If it were up to Meredith, she figured, the former wouldn't even let him leave her sights at all.

And for once since the first time she's been here, Alexa was looking forward to something. She wasn't counting on him keeping his promises, but she was hoping she could have a nice afternoon with a warm cup of hot chocolate coffee in her hands for once. It would be a welcoming change to all the demon sightings, the fact that she might be one of the Nephilim, and not to mention the commotion this morning.

Well, she was going to do just that, but she was going to have to spend at least ten minutes there hopelessly alone, which was definitely not a desirable situation for her. That meant ten minutes of making possible but definitely awkward eye-contact with complete strangers, and that was pretty much her worst nightmare.

Still, it wasn't like she could just sit still on the stair steps and wait for him there—that was just as bad. Maybe she could just take her time there; she was going to have to take the bus and walk her way to their place of meeting, so maybe she could take this time to soak in her surroundings and familiarize herself with the town a little better.

Celeste hadn't been the most pleased she's ever been when Alexa first told her about their 'study date'—if it could even be considered a 'study date' at all.

"I would prefer if you did not actively pursue a good-for-nothing boy like him," she'd said, and Alexa sighed.

"I'm not 'actively pursuing' him," she'd replied. "He has a girlfriend. That's where I draw the line. And besides, I've known him for barely over a week."

"Regardless, he is not 'good news', or however the saying goes again," the red-haired girl added with a scowl. "As a friend, I would love to see you happy, but I wish you were not happy with _him_."

"It'll be fine." At least, she hoped it would be. "I'll be careful."

"That is advisable, yes."

Alexa appreciated her friend's concern, but she didn't want to heed her words as a warning, but rather a voice of concern. She had just as much reason to doubt her friend's motives as much as Damien's, and even Morgan's, no matter how benevolent the latter might seem. She still had no clue what supernatural creatures like them had to do with a mundane high school like the one they went to, and even if it had nothing to do with Alexa herself, she had the right to be cautious. And she was, without a doubt, now with what happened this morning having occurred.

The news of the murder still haunted her mind even hours later, perhaps weeks later. She never had something this severe occur so close to her home—her _new_ home, but her home nevertheless—and she couldn't help but think if she was next.

The victim had been a mundane who knew about the Shadow World. Alexa herself was a mundane—as far as she knew—who knew about the Shadow World. Her friends didn't mind, but others outside their circle might. It was like being aware of the members of some mafia gang, to the point that she could potentially find out who the ringleader was. And that would put her straight in their crosshairs.

She was paranoid—it didn't take an observant genius to figure that out of her current behavior. Not to mention the occasional sightings of monstrous beasts with rolling black smoke trailing behind them and sparks of ember flickering beneath their ashen skin. She had to constantly look over her shoulder at all times, even as she walked to the bus stop right outside the school building, all the while trying to avoid unnecessary eye-contact with the people around her, whether she'd seen them in the school hallways before or not.

The bus arrived about three minutes later, and again, she gave a quick glance over her shoulder as the doors hissed open. She asked the driver where the stop closest to her destination was, and when he gave her some reassuring remarks afterward, she kept a guarded form as she walked down the narrow walkway and slid into the closest empty aisle she could find, keeping her bag close to herself and moved to look out the window.

No demons—yet. No black or red eyes, no fangs or sharp teeth—nothing suspicious she'd seen out the window so far. It was still the same scenery she'd see every single day going to school, but she was heading further into town, and she's only been there once. She knew she was going to have to get used to roaming around town soon, since her mother was getting more and more involved with her job, and in two years, she would have to leave for college. She was an introvert and perhaps a bit antisocial, but she was going to make an effort, not just for her sake but also her mother's sake.

After some time, she couldn't resist letting her mind wander off to whatever it was Damien happened to be preoccupied with. She wouldn't be surprised if Meredith had something to do with it, but the latter might not be completely aware of his plans that afternoon. He was, however, a bit preoccupied earlier during lunchtime and the period prior as well, having been missing for almost two hours, skipping Physics and appearing at the second half of their lunch period along with Meredith, but they both parted ways as soon as they reached the cafeteria, with the boy wandering over to hers and Celeste's table, and the blonde returning to her clique.

Both seemed bothered, but she didn't want to press him too much about it, and opted to continue her rather ordinary discussion with Celeste about lunch menu options, until he piped in with his own opinions, pretending as if nothing had happened at all. Even Celeste kept her thoughts to herself, allowing the three of them to enjoy a normal, mundane, typical teenagers' conversation for once.

A little over five minutes later, the bus stopped and the driver, being the helpful civilian he was, shouted over his shoulder to tell her this was her stop. She glanced around, wanting making sure nobody else was following her as she stepped off the bus, and the hairs on her back stood up a bit when a middle-aged man wearing a long brown coat and a fedora stood up along with her. She swallowed hard, thanked the driver after he gave her directions to _Coffee House,_ and tried her best to keep her balance and a cool head as she climbed down the steps and felt the hardness of the pavement beneath her feet once again.

A few feet away from the bus later, she heard the hissing sound of the doors and the low hum of the engine as the vehicle left, leaving her deserted in the middle of a place still foreign to her, and the stranger from the bus with the suspicious clothing.

Turning around, she watched as the man in the fedora walked past her, past the intersection and headed towards a direction opposite to hers, and only then could she start breathing again, having not realized she'd been holding it this entire time.

She straightened her clothes, readjusted the straps of her backpack and continued down the road, hoping there wouldn't be any more strange encounters along the way.

This was the first time she had been anywhere in Silvercrest that wasn't her house or the school, and she didn't want to count the forest either—but it seemed that it really did look like the little mountain town she initially envisioned before moving here; buildings made of brick and were no more than three stories tall, some with outdated appearances with rusted poles and hangars and worn-out wooden shop signs lining the exterior. She hadn't noticed the beautiful weather the afternoon had drifted into, with clear skies and more shades of green that she'd ever seen her entire life, and the fresh air was something she needed to calm herself down from all the stress. People minded their own businesses here, and she could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that she brushed past them without incident.

Her mother wasn't wrong when she'd said it would be a welcoming change. The city was suffocating, she decided, and she could see fog in the distant forest line and mountains in the background—actual fog, not smog nor smoke nor any other air pollution she grew up with. Maybe she could even go stargazing one of these days during a weekend off, seeing how stars shone much brighter and were much more evident than the skyline she was used to seeing back in her former home.

Without the demons and Downworlders, Silvercrest might've been a decent place to live after all. Too bad she couldn't enjoy this blissful moment all the time.

 _Coffee House_ lived up to its name—it was a little shop at the end of the road that led to an intersection, with the same traditional brick exterior and was two stories high. A black canopy sewn with the shop's name extended a little beyond the single front glass-panel door, with a couple of rusted wrought iron chairs and tables sitting out in front, their surfaces covered with dead leaves bearing the shades of fall. Behind them were windows, their curtains half-drawn, and a similar sight could be seen outside the second floor.

 _This is it_ , Alexa thought to herself, taking a deep breath but moving aside when another average citizen just walked out of the shop with a white cup in hand. Taking a quick glance up and down the street, she had yet to see any signs of Damien being there. With a sigh, she braced herself for the worst as she took a few steps forward, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

The tiny bell above the door announced her presence but no one seemed to notice but the staff, as a couple of people in uniforms shouted a half-hearted, establishment-obligatory greeting. Seeing there wasn't a line, she stepped up to the cashier, who offered her an equally half-hearted smile, and ordered a humble cup of cappuccino and a slice of cheesecake.

She found an empty table beside the window, for the sake of letting Damien spot where she was the instant he would come in there. While waiting for her order, she took out her phone, checked the time and checked if she'd gotten any more texts from him. He should be there soon, she thought, but there was no news from him just yet. Her shoulders dropped for a bit until someone approached her with her order, and as soon as she thanked him and waited for him to walk off, she stared at nothing in particular, getting somewhat more disappointed the more time stretched on.

Minutes passed. At the twenty-minute mark, she turned to the door, expecting him to come bursting through the door like the first day of school, but all who came was a middle-aged woman with her rambunctious son who kept on demanding for his hot chocolate. A half an hour later, her phone vibrated, but it turned out to be from her mother telling her how the former would come home a little later than usual, having decided to work an extra shift.

 _Great_ , Alexa thought to herself, staring at the cooling surface of her coffee. She had yet to even touch any of the things she ordered. _As if the day can't get any worse._

At the forty-minute mark, she decided to text him back.

 **A: Where are you?**

At the one-hour mark, she asked one of the waiters if they could wrap the cake to go, and ordered an extra cheesecake to take home for her mother, and exited the shop.

He wasn't coming. In her eyes, half an hour was fine, but one whole hour was a stretch. She wasn't going to wait around for a boy who wasn't even her boyfriend or permanent study partner. She wasn't going to wait around someone she knew for less than a month and kept more secrets from her than the universe itself.

It was five in the afternoon now—staying outside this late in a town where demons lurked around every shadowed corner was not something she would ever do, even if it was a dare, so she headed right back down to the bus stop she hopped off earlier, hoping there was still one last bus trip from here back to the stop closest to home. There weren't even that many people still out in and about in the streets anymore, not as much as before—at least a quarter of the population here should be aware of the strange goings-on around here, right?

Other than the slight pandemonium in the neighborhood this morning, the day turned out quite uneventful after all. She was admittedly disappointed; he could've at least replied to her text, right? Even as she headed back down to the bus stop, there didn't seem to be any signs of him _anywhere_. There were just faces she didn't recognize—faces she hoped wouldn't suddenly twist into something horrifying enough to fuel her nightmares.

Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. He just made a fool of her—in fact, as childish of a thought it was, he might've done this on purpose, just to lull her into putting her defenses down for him and maybe make even more of a fool out of her the following day at school. It was entirely possible, and she would never forgive him if that really was his plan all along. She just hoped this was just her trust issues, perhaps influenced a little by her developing paranoia, talking at the same time here.

Then came the grumbling from the skies above. She turned her head up, sighed at the sight of dark clouds gathering above the town itself, like an ashen cloak about to blanket the town with what she could assume would be one hell of a storm, judging by the density and the wind speed picking up as time passed on. She hugged her arms to herself, shuddered when a cold draft blew past her, deliberating on whether or not she should keep on staying where she stood until the bus arrived, if there was even one arriving at all. At least the bus stop had a sheltered waiting area, but if a storm was indeed brewing, it might not be helpful to her in the end anyway.

She waited some more. The setting sun was nowhere to be seen since the thick dark veil above blocked off most of the light from being cast down upon her surroundings, but at least the street lamps were now starting to flicker on one by one, illuminating the bus stop and other little spots along the road. Still, it didn't seem like a bus was approaching this stop at all—there were barely any cars that whizzed past her, all ignoring the lone, defenseless teenage girl suffering from at least a mild mental illness or two, could see things no one else could and could just be a potential target of supernatural creatures still unknown to her, sitting there all alone in the near-dark.

The bus wasn't coming either, she decided. She had to walk home then. And this turned out to be one of the worst days of her entire life after all.

She thought about what she was going to say to Damien when she would confront him the following morning. He better had a good explanation for himself, she thought. He gave her false hope, but it was her fault for looking forward to something she shouldn't.

That was right—she should've known better. She's been through something like this in the past, and again, she wasn't even that close to Damien, and she still contemplated on even considering him as a friend. Even Morgan was more of a friend to her than Damien was right now, and Alexa just met her because he was their mutual friend.

He was confusing, to say the least. More confusing than the stereotypes men held for women, which was ironic indeed. It felt like he was way too close but also far too distant as a friend altogether—and the fact that he approached her even though he told her that they should just stay away from each other made the situation even worse.

Maybe he wasn't good for her, after all—maybe Celeste was right all along. She should be thinking about school, about her academics and what she wanted to do with life, and maybe seek some psychiatric or psychologic help for the demon sightings, or maybe Morgan could help her remove it, knowing the latter was a warlock and all. She shouldn't be thinking about boys whose girlfriends weren't in particularly good terms with her because of jealousy.

She was tired—no, _exhausted_ was more appropriate. And she hoped that nothing else occurred that night, because all she wanted to do now was get to bed and pretend nothing from tonight had happened at all—and, as always, left it all for her to deal with the next morning.

A little drizzle had begun to fall, creating light tapping noises on the pavement and the plastic canopy above her. She stopped to pull out an umbrella from her bag, something her mother insisted she brought along with her for emergencies, and it turned out it had some use after all. She kept her phone secure in her hands just in case, half of her heart still sort-of wishing Damien would reply to her, the other half hoping it was just her mother telling her the former could pick her up where she was. That would be convenient indeed.

But in life, nothing was convenient.

She didn't hear it at first—the sound of the rain almost blocked it off entirely, but her senses were on overdrive with the knowledge that something supernatural might appear anywhere nearby, at any time.

It was half a scream, cut off within a split second, then muffled voices. It made her stop for a moment, and curiosity got the better of her as she couldn't resist wanting to listen in, despite knowing full well it might not be something she'd want to hear at all.

She diverted her attention to where the voices originated from—the entrance of an alleyway, just a few feet away from where she stood, between two buildings, one a closed shop and the other abandoned and a little decrepit. Part of a graffiti pattern could be seen from around the corner, and she was just a few steps away from passing the entrance to the alleyway itself. _Maybe I should take a look?_

 _Don't,_ she scolded herself. _You're in enough trouble as it is. Ignore it, go back home, pretend nothing happened._

Then the muffled voices turned to hushed whispers. Then, there was moaning.

Her eyes went wide and heat rushed up to her face. What was she hearing right now?

She looked back down the street she was walking along. She should just walk past, right? But she couldn't help but have a disturbing thought—a thought that someone in there might be in trouble. There was at least two people down that alleyway, and from what she could figure out, one of them was female.

This wasn't the city, but that didn't mean that dangers—normal, _human_ dangers—didn't lurk around.

She took one step forward. Then another, then another, until she was at the center of the entrance of the passageway.

Then she turned, and she froze.

A teenage girl, with shoulder-length beach-blonde hair, wearing a tank-top and shorts, just a couple of years younger than her—pressed against the brick wall, her head turned upwards and her mouth parted. Latched onto her figure was what looked to be a young man, his back turned towards her, wearing dark clothing and bearing short black hair and hints of pale, almost cadaverous skin.

A second later, the figure released his hold on the poor girl, and Alexa barely noticed the two pin-prick holes on the side of her neck and the trails of blood dripping from it before the girl's lifeless body slid down the wall and crumpled to the ground, before the figure in black straightened his back, wiped his mouth with his left sleeve, then turned his face towards her.

She gasped, and the plastic bag with the cakes fell to the ground.

"Damien?"

His eyes shot up as soon as she mentioned his name. And for a short moment, it was just the two of them staring at each other, and Alexa didn't realize the gravity of the situation until her mind placed all the puzzle pieces back together, her eyes darting towards the drop of blood trailing from the corner of his lips, then to the unconscious girl on the ground.

She didn't know what happened next; all she remembered was her body thrown against the brick wall, his eyes staring straight into hers, and his voice.

"Sleep."

And she did.


	10. Catharsis

If she had a penny for every time she woke up in her room unharmed after blacking out the previous night, she would have three pennies.

Well, three pennies weren't much, but it would be more than the average person, unless the average person was one of her old friends back home who frequented the local bar every Friday.

She woke up in a startle, her back straightening to a sitting position right away as she found herself drawing in deep breaths of fresh air. Her heart was hammering against her chest and the sunlight bursting through the window of her room nearly blinded her—it was too bright for it to be in the early hours of the morning, however, which led her to wonder if she had been sleeping long enough that she was late for school.

Not that she was in much of a rush anyway.

"Don't worry, I already told Morgan to tell the teachers we might be missing school today. They shouldn't be looking for us and we shouldn't be in too much trouble once we get back."

She jumped as soon as she heard the voice, then turned around to grab a pillow for self-defense and raised it in front of herself, only to turn to the side of the bed and see a familiar face sitting on the desk chair beside her, his eyes wide as soon as he noticed the pillow and his own hands raised to defend himself.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down there, tiger."

"I will not!" she retorted back. Despite the haze filling up her mind, she could still recall bits and pieces of the night before—their arranged meeting, him standing her up and abandoning her there without any word of news at all, and the sight of him standing over that teenager, and the blood on his lips and her neck.

He was a vampire. How didn't she connect the dots earlier? The skin, his reluctance to eat during lunchtime… What kind of idiot was she?

And why wasn't she surprised even the slightest bit at all?

"You killed that girl!" she exclaimed, glaring at him in disgust and contempt, until his face morphed into realization and his shoulders dropped.

"I didn't _kill_ her," he replied with a stoic voice, his head turning away as his eyes looked at anything in the room but her. "I fed from her—drank her blood. That's it. She should be at school right now, and as far as I know, she doesn't recall a single thing that happened last night."

"So, you admit it, then?" Her back stiffened. "You are a vampire?"

Before she knew what he was doing, he reached over to her and cup one hand over her mouth, using the other to hold the back of her head, and she yelped.

"Not so loud!" he snapped in a hushed whisper, looking out the window and around as if he was afraid someone might overhear them. They were in her room—nobody shouldn't be eavesdropping on them, at least, she hoped so. Then he dropped his hands, moving to sit back down on the chair. "But yes."

"And you tried to keep that little secret of yours hidden away from me even though I have the Sight and I know Morgan is a warlock."

"It's… complicated right now," he explained in a much calmer tone, but his eyes still refused to meet hers. "I have my reasons."

"And you stood me up yesterday."

At this, he opened his mouth to say something, then she watched as his lips parted and closed several times before coherent words began to be spoken out of his mouth.

"I didn't plan that part, no. I wasn't lying to you when I said I was going to be late, and I really did want to go, but…"

"But?"

"Meredith." He sighed. "Again, it's complicated."

"How complicated?"

"Complicated enough that I don't think it should concern you, and I will tell you if it ever becomes pertinent, but until then, there's a reason why I've been keeping you in the dark this whole time. Not to mention what you saw on what I guess was on your way home. I was heading there actually, even though you probably weren't waiting for me anymore since it was getting pretty late, and it was raining, too. I'd forgotten to feed recently

"You killed someone."

"For the last time, I didn't kill her." He ran a hand through his hair, so she kept her mouth shut and allowed him to speak. "We don't kill people—not unless we have to, or if we can't control ourselves not to. Most of the time, the bites are harmless, and the older we are, the more self-control we have so we don't just drain all the blood out of them. Besides, I was just a little bit hungry. She just happened to be an unlucky one that I had to fed off from at the spur of the moment, but she's unharmed—I promise you."

"Well then, why didn't you tell me about this before?"

His eyebrows arched up. "Hmm?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were a vampire?" Alexa continued, staring straight at him. "It's not that big of a deal, is it? You've mentioned before that vampires are a thing here. And so are werewolves and faeries, and warlocks and demons. And the Nephilim."

He scoffed, leaning back against his chair as his hand went to the back of his neck. "It's not just the part about the vampire—it's the part about where I don't burst straight into flames as soon as I touch sunlight."

She cocked an eyebrow at this. _What?_

"Vampires." He sighed. "What the stories and legends said about them are true. You know, undead, drinking blood, fangs, pale skin and the usual lot, and that includes the whole part about shriveling up into a burnt corpse as soon as they step under sunlight. But me…"

As though to prove his words to her, he leaned forward, towards the ray of light that had burst in through the windows right next to the bed, then stretched his hand out, enough so that half of his forearm was now bathed in light. His expression was calm, his eyes staring at his own hand before turning to hers.

"I don't feel anything," he mused, laughing for a small bit before his smile faded away. "I shouldn't be able to do this. I should've yanked my hand away as soon as it lights up like a torch, but it doesn't. And that's the dangerous part."

He pulled his hand back, his gaze diverted away from her.

"They call people like us 'Daylighters'. According to what I've heard from people about us—about _me_ —is that there hasn't been a new Daylighter created in _decades,_ maybe even centuries. Nobody knows how they're made—it seems that different circumstances apply to different Daylighters, and even _I_ have no idea how I ended up this way. All I knew was that I woke up about five feet under, clawed my way out of my own grave, and it was daylight—the worst timing possible for any vampire to wake up for the first time, but not for me."

"But is that it?" she questioned him. It wasn't that she wasn't impressed with this new knowledge—she supposed she could be amazed that, in a way, he was different than others—but how would a vampire who could walk in daylight be of that much importance? "The dangerous part is that… you can walk under the sunlight?"

As expected, he shook his head. "The thing about Daylighters is that we have this… this strange power, and I'm not kidding here. Our blood can heal any wound—literally any wound at all, no matter how grave—within seconds, a minute at most. So naturally—"

"People want to use that to their own advantage." It wasn't all too surprising that it led up to that conclusion, and Damien nodded.

"I can't let people know I'm a Daylighter," he murmured with a frown. "I can't let others know I'm a _vampire_ , period, because if they did and they see me walking around town in broad daylight suffering no harm at all, it's easy to connect the dots."

"Does Morgan know, though?"

He gave her a firm nod. "Of course, she knows. She's been there since the very beginning."

 _Of course, she would,_ she remarked to herself. "What about Meredith? Does she even know that you're a… you know… That you're not exactly _alive_ , per se?"

As soon as she said this, he raised both his eyebrows, and his lips twisted and curved as though he was trying to keep himself from making a face.

"Meredith?" he scoffed. "Of course. I mean, she is my sire, after all—and a Daylighter, just like me."

Her eyes went wide and her jaw fell. "Meredith is—"

"A vampire?" He nodded again. "I figured that much was obvious. Why'd you think I'm so loyal to her? It's not like I was ever interested in her the way the typical boyfriend would—she's a horrible person, and you know that more than anyone."

Her mouth fell open again even further this time around. Part of her thought she was being delusional, hearing him say those words. But his expression didn't betray his words, as his lips drew a thin line that almost looked like a scowl, and his eyes had wandered off to a far distance.

He shrugged. "I'm not, like, in love with her like we're a couple from some cheesy—what is it that people call these days— _rom-com_ movies and films. I don't love her at all—I do not harbor any sort of romantic feelings towards her at all, period. I mean, how in the world can I love someone who made me lose my family and ruined my life by turning me into this abomination?"

She was just about to say something when she realized exactly what he'd just said. He didn't seem to be bothered much by it, though. Like it was a typical subject of conversation that would come up every now and then, regardless of sentiments.

So instead, she asked, "So why did you agree to be her boyfriend, then?"

"Because, as the one who turned me into a vampire in the first place, I can't refuse to anything she demands that I do." He leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. "And for the sake of what we're doing here—that complicated thing I mentioned earlier—it would be convenient if people think we're dating so that people don't suspect us of doing anything."

"Don't suspect you?" She glared at him. "Okay, don't tell me to not worry about it because I'm definitely worried about it now."

He gave a small chuckle, then reached over with his hand out, perhaps reaching for her, but much to her own disappointment, it stopped halfway, and instead patted the mattress of the bed just inches away from her.

"I promise you," he said, "it's not something you should be worried about. Once it concerns you, I'll tell you in a heartbeat. That, I can promise."

"People can break promises, you know. You've done that yourself before."

"I know." There wasn't even the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice as he said those two words. "And I apologize for that. I can assure you, I'm not the type of person who breaks the promises he's made. And I promise you everything will be fine."

Everything was _not_ fine—at least, not in her eyes. It took her some time to digest the mere existence of supernatural creatures. It wasn't going to take her much time to process this new information, but it burdened her thoughts, knowing that a) Damien was working in tandem with his psychotic girlfriend on what she could and was going to assume was illegal activities, and b) if he had a say in it, he would've never been her boyfriend in the first place.

Not that the second part mattered much to her, anyway. Not that it mattered at all, even.

"Last night."

Her voice caught his attention, though she didn't even realize his gaze had wandered elsewhere, as if his mind was somewhere outside this room. As soon as she spoke up, however, he snapped out of it, giving her his full attention.

"You did the same thing to me back at the party, didn't you?" she asked him, worry etched to the features of her face. "What the hell did you do to me?"

Hearing her question, he initially stared at her, then he sighed as he broke into a smile.

"It's called _encanto,_ " he said. It sounded foreign— _Spanish, perhaps?_ she'd thought."Fascination. It works like hypnosis—I just used it to make you fall unconscious so I can take you back here, where it's safe."

"And you think it's okay to just knock people unconscious like that, especially when they least expect it?"

"No, just whenever someone walks in on me feeding from a human victim and discover my true nature." His smile turned into a grin. "It keeps people from screaming for help—it keeps _you_ from screaming for help, because otherwise, it'll complicate things."

"Who said I was going to scream?"

"Touché," he spoke in a matter-of-fact manner, cocking his head to the side. "I should've considered the fact that this was _you_ we're talking about here."

She raised an eyebrow as she began to glare at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." He responded right away—said it way too fast for it to be considered normal. "Just a stray thought."

" _Damien_."

"You're not like most people, are you?"

She looked down at her hands. "What? Like the whole Sight thing, and the potential Nephilim bloodline thing?"

"No, not quite. I can think of a few names in which a situation like that applies to them. I was talking about how you're taking all of this with a cool head. Most people would freak out the moment they start seeing demons everywhere around town, or when they found out their friends were vampires and warlocks and the like. Even much less when they start grilling said friend about something else—something insignificant, really—instead of keeping the truth of their nature to them."

"Well, most people don't look forward to a meeting at a coffee shop, only to find the person they were going to be meeting in some dimly-lit alleyway, his mouth latched onto a girl's neck, maybe a second too short of killing her."

"And that just proved my point." He was smiling again. "You're taking this whole situation way too calm for a regular old human."

She pursed her lips, her eyes gazing at the distance. "Well, let's just say, with everything going on lately, it doesn't seem all that surprising anymore. And besides, how am I supposed to move forward with life if I keep on making it difficult for myself to accept things the way they are? It's not like I can change the fact that I can see demons, or the fact that you're a vampire."

"Daylighter."

"Whatever, same thing. My point is, there's no point in wallowing over something you can't change. It's not like we can go back in time and keep you from getting turned into some undead creature, or keep my dad from leaving so he could tell me who I am and how the hell I can see demons."

She stopped herself right before she went too far, but she had said enough to attract his attention and, undoubtedly, his curiosity. She bit down on her bottom lip when she saw his eyes going wide for a split second as the realization dawned upon him, breathing out a heavy sigh and expecting him to question about it.

And yet, it didn't come.

"Speaking of which, I don't think it's safe for you to wander around town much anymore," he spoke instead, making her more confused than ever, but when she realized what he was saying, she frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because there's a killer on the loose."

When she looked back up to him again, he turned his own gaze away from her.

"There was another murder that happened last night," he continued to say, completely disregarding what'd just transpired moments before. "From what I've heard, it was a changeling this time."

"A what?"

"A sickly child of the fey," he explained to her, but scrunched his face as slightly as possible, "replaced with a healthy human one so neither of them know that they're adopted or the fact that they're not what they thought they were."

"What?" She shook her head. "Who would do that?"

He shrugged. "The Fair Folk. Although, I guess, living up to what they're called, they made it fair by making sure they both grow up in decent homes. Their bloodline is getting weaker, and it's either that or they kidnap unwitting adult mundanes, so I guess the Nephilim just let it happen, just to live up to the Accords about Downworld equality."

"That's… messed up." She waited for a moment before asking, "Is it like how Mrs. MacKenzie… passed?"

She feared what she expected, and what she expected came true when Damien gave her a firm nod. "Whoever it is behind this, it's either that it's a complete coincidence they're all somehow related to us denizens of the Shadow World, or—"

"They're intentionally killing them off. Shouldn't the high-ranking feds be dealing with something like this? I mean, mass murder and a serial killer? The local police department shouldn't be the only ones handling something like this, right?"

"Word doesn't go that far when you're in secluded little mountain town like Silvercrest," he said with another shrug. "Just around us folks, but more often than not, never beyond. It makes things difficult for us more than just a couple times."

Then he took her hand in his. She drew in a sharp breath when he did, having not seen that at all since he seemed half-hearted whenever he tried to go for it, but he wasn't hesitant now, and the back of her hand felt comfortable coldness as soon as he made contact.

"Just… be safe, all right?" His thumb moved just a millimeter but stopped, but strangely, she hadn't minded that at all. "If anyone knows you know about us, whoever this killer may be—"

"He might go after me," she finished with a sigh. "I know. It's kinda scary, come to think of it, though."

"Well," he scoffed, "for what it's worth, if anybody tries to lay a single finger on you, I'll snap their heads off their necks. And I don't think Morgan will hold back if anything happens, either—she's grown quite fond of having you as a friend, you know."

Some part of her felt that was a lie. They hadn't talked much at school, and she considered the warlock an acquaintance, at most. Though, with the lack of familiarity with most people at school, she might as well consider the purple-eyed girl her friend, after all.

"So." She swung her legs to the side of the bed, letting her feet touch the ground, facing him in full view. "Am I supposed to stay here for the rest of the day, or can we just head back to school now?"

Both his eyebrows raised in surprise, and she gave him a feeble shrug.

"I mean, you did say we might miss school, but you also said I shouldn't be wandering anywhere, and home gets a little boring after a few hours or so. I might as well be at school—there's about eight hundred students there, so I think I should be safe as long as I don't meander to underneath the bleachers or some janitor's closet, you know."

As much as he tried to resist, he ended up bursting into a short fit of laughter at the last bit, and as much as _she_ tried to resist, it made her smile.

"I suppose school should be fine. And besides." He winked at her, and she felt her knees buckling. "I can still keep an eye on you while we're there."

"Are you sure your girlfriend won't mind seeing you with me?" she found herself asking him, cocking an eyebrow, almost shuddering at the mere thought of Meredith with fangs like his that she saw just the night before.

"I'll deal with Meredith." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and she realized she'd forgotten his hand was over hers in the first place. It didn't feel as cold now—in fact, it felt almost warm. "I have my ways of calming down the beast."

She snorted at his last word, then allowed him to help her up though Damien himself wasn't standing up.

"Go ahead and shower first," he said afterwards. "You were drenched in rain last night, so use warm water or you'll get a cold. I'll wait right here, then we can go after you're done, okay?"

She puffed her cheeks and pursed her lips, heat radiating across her cheeks and she said nothing as she felt his stare burning to the middle of her spine as she walked over to her wardrobe to fetch some clothes. There was no way in hell she was going to dress here, with his presence in the room.

 _He has a girlfriend,_ she told herself, as her cheeks grew warmer. _He doesn't love her, but she's still his girlfriend. Hell, maybe she does like him—maybe he just doesn't like her back the way she wanted him to._

Just before her hand reached the door handle, however, she froze, before turning around to face him again.

"By the way," she said, "how the hell did my mom ever let you in here? You didn't stay the night with me, did you?"

Keeping his façade as cool and enigmatic as possible, he shrugged and gave her a mischievous smirk. " _Encanto._ Works like a charm—works every time."

The frown returned to her face as she shook her head while opening the door behind her. "I think you and I are going to need to have a little talk about that."


End file.
